Wall Street closed higher on Monday after the United States and Iran reached a peace agreement, easing tensions in the Middle East and lifting investor sentiment. The Nasdaq Composite, the S&P 500 and the Dow ended in positive territory.

How Did the Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 0.9%, or 468.77 points, to close at 51,671.03. Eighteen components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory, and 12 ended in the negative.

The major gainer of the Dow was The Boeing Company (BA Quick QuoteBA - Free Report) . The stock price of this aerospace and defense company rose 4.5%. The Boeing currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 3.1% or 795.10 points, to close at 26,683.94.

The S&P 500 gained 1.7% to end at 7,554.29. Out of the 11 broad sectors of the broad-market index, seven ended in positive territory, while four were in negative territory. The Information Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK), the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLC) and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) rose 3.4%, 2.4%, and 1.9%, respectively, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) fell 3.6%.

The fear gauge, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), decreased by 8.4% to 16.20. A total of 21.29 billion shares were traded on Monday, higher than the last 20-session average of 20.82 billion. The S&P 500 posted 41 new 52-week highs and three new lows, and the Nasdaq Composite recorded 202 new highs and 89 new lows.

U.S. and Iran Reach Peace Agreement

The United States and Iran have reached a peace agreement in the Middle East, which will bring an end to the war.

In a statement, Pakistani prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif said on Sunday that the United States and Iran have agreed to a “peace agreement” which will be signed in Switzerland on June 19. Under the terms of the agreement, both sides will “put an end to fighting and implement a total halt to military action across all areas of conflict, including Lebanon.”

Minutes later, President Donald Trump announced the agreement had been reached with Iran and the war would come to an end.

Iran agreed to the terms of the deal. In a statement released by Iran’s supreme national security council on Sunday, the council said that it had “finalized a memorandum of understanding with the United States,” and that “all military operations in all fields will come to a permanent end.”

A major diplomatic breakthrough that brought an end to months of increasing military tensions and widespread anxiety over the implications for regional and global security and for oil supplies. The agreement will be formally sealed when both sides sign in Switzerland and commit themselves to its terms.

Economic Data

The NY Empire State Manufacturing Index for June fell to 5.7, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 13.9. The reading for May was 19.6.

Industrial production increased by 0.1% in May. The April reading was revised upward to a 0.9% increase from the previously reported 0.7% gain.

Capacity utilization in May came in at 76.2%, below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 76.3%. The metric for April was 76.1%.