• Updated

Oil prices sank, and stock markets rallied worldwide with hopes that a deal is nearing to allow tankers to deliver crude from the Persian Gulf again. The price for a barrel of Brent fell toward $101 Wednesday. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 climbed 1.5% for its best day in nearly a month and set another record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.2%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 2%. Stock markets abroad rallied even more. Oil prices pared their steepest drops from the morning, though, and Wall Street has seen past hopes for an end to the Iran war get dashed several times.