Update: US Equity Indexes Jump as Crude Oil Slides Following Iran's Conditional Plan to Reopen Hormuz Chokepoint

02:17 PM EDT, 09/25/2026 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data and company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.) US equity indexes rose as crude oil prices fell after Iran floated a conditional proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days and resume talks over its nuclear program, reigniting hopes of a deal to end the war that's choked energy markets. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.5% to 27,084.8, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.8% to 51,753.1, and the S&P 500 advanced 0.5% to 7,740.6 after midday Friday. Energy and communication services led decliners, while technology and industrials topped gainers. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran is willing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key crude and energy chokepoint, and restart talks on its nuclear program if Washington accepts its conditions, CNBC reported Friday, citing Araghchi's remarks on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. "The conditions we have asked the US to meet are nothing new, nothing more than what was already in the Islamabad [memorandum of understanding]," Araghchi reportedly said. The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract dropped 2.2% to $92.58 per barrel, and the global benchmark North Sea Brent retreated 1.9% to $104.57 per barrel. US Treasury yields traded mixed, with the 10-year adding 3.8 basis points to 5.20% while the two-year was steady at 4.89%. Gold futures edged up 0.4% to $4,316.1, and silver futures advanced 1% to $64.64. In economic news, new orders for durable goods were flat in August from a 0.9% gain in July, versus expectations of a 0.3% decline in a Bloomberg-compiled survey. Excluding a 0.6% drop in transportation orders, new orders would have been up 0.3% in August after a 0.7% increase in July. Expectations were for a 0.6% gain. The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index was revised higher to 48.1 for September from 47.8 in the preliminary estimate, versus expectations of a downward revision to 47.5 in a Bloomberg-compiled survey. The print is still below August's final 51.7 reading. Respondents expected a 4.6% inflation rate over the next year and 3.4% annual inflation over the next five years, up from 4.0% and 3.3% respectively in August. "Overall, interviews reveal broad agreement across the political spectrum that the outlook for the economy has weakened since the beginning of the year," Michigan said. "After particularly large declines in sentiment this month, Republican sentiment is now 20% lower than January 2026; Democrats are down 13% over the same period." In company news, Meta Platforms' (META) Muse AI agent has strong early adoption, but uncertain monetization raises concerns, Oppenheimer said in a note. Muse saw about 340,000 US downloads per day, but even if downloads reached 500,000 per day for more than a year, 2027 revenue would rise only about 4%, the investment research outfit said. Meta's shares fell 3.4%, the Nasdaq's worst performer.