NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks shot higher on Friday, with major indices notching up record highs intra-day and at the close. Earlier in the day, Iran announced that the Strait of Hormuz was now fully open and would remain so during the ceasefire. The move appears to have been agreed as part of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire.

"In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of the ceasefire, on the coordinated route as already announced by the Ports and Maritime Organisation of the Islamic Rep. of Iran," Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in a statement Friday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average led Friday's rally, posting a massive triple-digit gain. The blue-chip index soared 869.20 points to close at 49,447.92, an increase of 1.79 percent. Trading volume for Dow components reached 567.676 million shares. The index traded within a daily range of 48,788.81 to 49,717.98.

The broader Standard and Poor's 500 also finished firmly in positive territory. The benchmark index advanced 84.74 points to settle at 7,126.02, a gain of 1.20 percent. Total volume for the session was 3.449 billion shares. The S&P 500 hit an intraday high of 7,147.52 and a low of 7,074.55.

Technology stocks powered the Nasdaq Composite higher as well. The Nasdaq closed at 24,468.48, adding 365.78 points on the session, representing a rise of 1.52 percent. Volume on the Nasdaq reached 7.720 billion shares.

Market analysts pointed to broad-based buying across sectors, with investor sentiment bolstered by recent economic data and corporate earnings. The Dow's rally of nearly 870 points marked one of its strongest sessions in recent months, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq continued to build on their upward trajectories. All three U.S. indices traded near their session highs heading into the closing bell.

U.S. Dollar Softens, Ends Week with Across-the-Board Losses

The U.S. dollar closed the Friday trading session on a softer footing against its major counterparts, as currency markets saw modest but broad-based moves following the latest weekly data.

The euro posted a fractional gain against the greenback. The EUR/USD pair settled at 1.1781, up 0.000170 on the day, representing an increase of just 0.01 percent. The single currency traded within a daily range of 1.1772 to 1.1849.

Sterling also advanced against the dollar, with the GBP/USD pair ending the session at 1.3537. That marked a gain of 0.001165, or 0.09 percent, as the pound found support above the 1.3500 level. Intraday highs reached 1.3599, with a low of 1.3504.

The Japanese yen strengthened notably against the dollar, one of the day's more pronounced moves. The USD/JPY pair last traded at 158.43, declining by 0.7260 points, which equates to a drop of 0.46 percent. The pair moved between a high of 159.53 and a low of 157.59 during the session.

Similarly, the Swiss franc appreciated against the dollar. The USD/CHF pair finished at 0.7805, down 0.003170, or 0.4 percent. The pair's daily trading band spanned from 0.7840 at the top to 0.7775 at the bottom.

The Canadian dollar also gained ground on its U.S. counterpart. USD/CAD settled at 1.3676, a decline of 0.002775, representing a loss of 0.2 percent for the greenback. The pair saw highs of 1.3708 and lows of 1.3649.

Among commodity currencies, the Australian dollar advanced against the U.S. dollar. The AUD/USD pair settled at 0.7175, adding 0.001415 on the session for a gain of 0.2 percent. It touched a high of 0.7221 and a low of 0.7154.

The New Zealand dollar posted a smaller gain. NZD/USD last traded at 0.5893, up 0.000370, or 0.06 percent, after trading between 0.5891 and 0.5930.

Global Equity Markets Close Mixed as European Surge Offsets Asian Losses

World stock markets closed on a mixed note Friday, with European indices posting significant gains while most Asian markets ended the day in the red, according to final trading data.

European exchanges led the rally, driven by broad-based buying. Germany's DAX P index surged sharply, adding 547.77 points to close at 24,702.24, a robust increase of 2.27 percent. France's CAC 40 also saw strong momentum, climbing 162.43 points to finish at 8,425.13, a gain of 1.97 percent. The broader EURO STOXX 50 I index rose 124.43 points, settling at 6,057.71 for a rise of 2.10 percent.

Other European benchmarks followed suit. The Euronext 100 Index advanced 20.86 points to end at 1,851.23, a gain of 1.14 percent, while Belgium's BEL 20 added 88.56 points to finish at 5,572.10, an increase of 1.62 percent. In the Middle East, Israel's TA-125 rose 45.16 points to 4,309.03, up 1.06 percent, and South Africa's Top 40 USD Net TRI Index posted one of the day's strongest performances, skyrocketing 299.90 points to 7,547.41, a surge of 4.14 percent.

Meanwhile, London's FTSE 100 posted a more modest advance, closing at 10,667.63 after adding 77.64 points, or 0.73 percent.

Canadian stocks also finished the week on a positive note. The S&P/TSX Composite index rose 294.06 points to end at 34,346.29, a gain of 0.86 percent. Volume for the session was reported at 324.38 million shares.

Asian markets, however, struggled to find similar footing. Japan's Nikkei 225 suffered a steep decline, tumbling 1,042.44 points to close at 58,475.90, a drop of 1.75 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 233.93 points to end at 26,160.33, down 0.89 percent, while Taiwan's TWSE Capitalization Weighted Stock Index lost 327.68 points, closing at 36,804.34 for a decline of 0.88 percent.

Other regional losses included South Korea's KOSPI Composite Index, which shed 34.13 points to finish at 6,191.92, a loss of 0.55 percent. New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 Gross Index fell 160.39 points to 12,905.67, a decrease of 1.23 percent. Singapore's STI Index dipped 9.90 points to 4,997.93, down 0.20 percent, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 8.10 points to 8,946.90, a marginal loss of 0.09 percent. The broader Australian ALL ORDINARIES index closed at 9,168.70, down 4.90 points, or 0.05 percent.

China's SSE Composite Index also ended lower, falling 4.12 points to 4,051.43, a decline of 0.10 percent on volume of 3.34 billion shares.

In contrast, some Asian markets finished higher. India's S&P BSE SENSEX gained 504.86 points to close at 78,493.54, an increase of 0.65 percent. Indonesia's IDX Composite added 12.62 points to settle at 7,634.00, up 0.17 percent, and Malaysia's FTSE Bursa KLCI rose 5.50 points to 1,695.21, a gain of 0.33 percent.

(This report incorporates quotes retrieved with the assistance of artificial intelligence).

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