US Equity Markets End Higher Amid Falling Oil Prices Following Iran's Proposal to Reopen Strait of Hormuz

04:15 PM EDT, 09/25/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes were higher Friday after crude oil prices declined following Iran's conditional proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days and resume talks over its nuclear program. * 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 previously agreed-upon conditions, CNBC reported Friday, citing Araghchi's remarks on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. * 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. * 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. * October West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell $2.37 to settle at $92.24 per barrel, while November Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen down $2.32 at $104.29. * Microsoft (MSFT) shares rose about 3.7%, the top gainer on the Dow, after the company introduced three new capabilities to its Copilot app, namely Home, Code, and Autopilot. * Gen Digital (GEN) has made an initial acquisition attempt for GoDaddy (GDDY) as it seeks to expand beyond cybersecurity and privacy technology, the Financial Times reported Thursday. Gen Digital shares fell roughly 6.3%, the worst performer on the S&P 500, and GoDaddy declined about 3.6%.