US stocks finished higher on Friday as SpaceX enjoyed a buoyant market debut following the largest ever initial public offering, while oil prices slid on hopes of an agreement to end the Middle East war.

After raising more than US$75 billion in an historic IPO, SpaceX soared in its maiden session on Nasdaq, finishing up 19 percent and giving Elon Musk's company an overall valuation above US$2 trillion.

Briefing.com called the debut "impressive" but said it didn't necessarily portend further gains.

"The focus now shifts to whether SpaceX can hang onto these opening gains once the initial scarcity premium, institutional allocation scramble, and retail enthusiasm begin to settle," Briefing said. "The caution is valuation and execution risk."

Major US stock indices veered into the red during the session, but finished the session positive.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.7 percent to end at 51,202.26, the S&P 500 finished up 0.5 percent at 7,431.46 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3 percent to 25,888.84.

Besides SpaceX, markets were focused on the talks between Washington and Tehran over a potential peace deal to end the Middle East war.

Iran suggested an agreement was within reach.

"The Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding has never been closer," Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchihe wrote in a social media post.

"Pending its finalization, the media should refrain from entering speculation about its content," he added.

But US President Donald Trump pivoted from his latest remarks which had suggested a deal was all but complete, calling the Iranians "very dishonourable people" in the most recent talks.

In any case, oil prices continued a retreat, with both Brent and West Texas Intermediate finishing below US$90 a barrel.

"The market is holding out hope that we're going to get some type of extended, ceasefire between the US and Iran," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare, who added that SpaceX's strong debut raised confidence about other large IPOs expected from OpenAi and Anthropic.

Europe's main markets gained more than one percent, following big gains in Asia.

"Investors were in a buoyant mood as hopes of a peace deal between the US and Iran were revived, having seemingly dropped off the table earlier in the week," said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.

"Whether momentum can be sustained depends on positive noises about a resolution translating into something more solid in the coming days," he added. (AFP)



Edited by Robert Kemp