How major US stock indexes fared Wednesday

(AP) – US stocks neared records Wednesday on hopes that the United States and Iran are backing away from the edge of war.

The rally capped a whirlwind day of reversals that swept through markets. Stocks initially reeled after Iran fired missiles at two bases in Iraq housing US troops, retaliation for a US drone strike that killed a top Iranian general last week.

But the selling abated as reports suggested no Americans died and after Iran’s foreign minister said his country had concluded “proportionate measures in self-defense.” Gains accelerated after President Donald Trump said Iran “appears to be standing down.”