The S&P 500 moved into positive territory on Thursday, even as the price of U.S. oil moved back above $100 per barrel, as traders continued to monitor the Middle East after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire.

The broad market index traded up 0.1%, as did the Nasdaq Composite. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 66 points, or 0.1%.

Crude prices rose again on Thursday, putting pressure on equities. West Texas Intermediate futures popped 7% to above $101 per barrel. International Brent crude futures traded 4% higher at above $98 a barrel.

The moves come after the three leading U.S. indexes each popped more than 2% during Wednesday’s session, with the Dow seeing its best day since April 2025 — back when Trump softened his stance on some of his lofty initial tariffs.

On Tuesday night, Trump agreed to pause attacks on Iran. The Middle Eastern conflict has been going on for five weeks and has resulted in the closure of the crucial Strait of Hormuz.

The “double sided” ceasefire, however, was contingent on Iran agreeing to reopening the strait. Tehran agreed to reopen the waterway for the next two weeks as long as all attacks are halted, according to a statement from Iran’s Foreign Minister. Media reports said that Israel has also agreed to the ceasefire.

But later on Wednesday, Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused the U.S. of already violating the ceasefire agreement. The violations are Israel’s continued attacks on Lebanon, a drone’s entry into Iranian airspace and the denial of the Islamic Republic’s right to enrich uranium, he said.

U.S. military forces will remain deployed in and around Iran until Tehran fully complies with the “real agreement,” President Donald Trump said Wednesday, warning that any breach would trigger a military response larger than anything seen before.

Meanwhile, overall traffic through the strait has still not improved since the ceasefire deal was announced, as only some bulk carriers — which carry dry cargo rather than oil — have traversed the key waterway.

Even as the market rebounded on Wednesday, there are still potential pitfalls around negotiations in the Middle East, according to Eric Johnston, chief equity and macro strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald. He spoke on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime” Wednesday afternoon.

“I do think, from a short-term perspective, that there are still risks that are still there,” he said. “You have a lot of players involved and, so far, Hormuz is not open. So there are still risks and so I think for the coming couple weeks, we’ll see how this plays out. But yes, broadly we think this is a buying opportunity.”

Investors also assessed the latest economic data releases. February’s reading of the personal consumption expenditure price index — the Federal Reserve’s preferred measurement of inflation — was in line with expectations for both headline and core. However, jobless claims for the week ended April 4 came in above expectations.