The Hormuz Reopening Trade: These 20 Large-Cap Stocks Still Haven't Caught Up To Pre-War Levels

Wall Street rallied toward record highs Monday as President Donald Trump declared the Strait of Hormuz reopened and oil prices plunged, yet a cluster of the market’s biggest names are still trading well below their pre-war levels.

West Texas Intermediate fell 5.4% on Monday to about $80 a barrel, now trading more than 30% below its wartime peak, as the U.S. and Iran moved to end the conflict and reopen the strait.

Using Benzinga Pro, a screen of stocks worth more than $100 billion turns up 20 names still trading below their February 27 close, the last session before the war began. Each remains down by 15% to 24%.

What Trump Said On Iran

Trump announced the agreement Sunday on Truth Social, clearing the reopening of the waterway and lifting the United States naval blockade.

"The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete. … Ships of the world, start your engines. Let the oil flow!"

On Monday, Trump added the relief was already reaching the water.

“Ships are starting to move, many loaded up with Oil, out of the Strait,” he wrote on Truth Social on Monday, describing a southern shipping route he called safe and secure. Roughly a fifth of the world's oil moves through the strait. Its closure since late February had built a war premium into every barrel.

The formal peace agreement is now set to be signed Friday in Switzerland. Vice President JD Vance said the full text would be released this week.

Which Stocks Lagged During Iran War?

According to Benzinga Pro, the stocks still trading below their February 27, 2026 close cluster in consumer staples, healthcare, communication services, software and mining.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT), down 24%, sits at the top. Consumer anchors PepsiCo Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP), Unilver PLC (NYSE:UL) and McDonald's Corp. (NYSE:MCD) are there too, alongside the gold trade in Newmont Corp. (NYSE:NEM) and the bullion fund SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE:GLD).

The screen's worst performers include China's largest internet names. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE:BABA) and PDD Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD) both sit near the bottom.

China is the world's biggest crude importer, so the Hormuz shock hit it hardest. Higher energy costs fed straight into the cost base of its companies and squeezed profit margins.

Software and IT services are the other crowded corner. SAP SE (NYSE:SAP), Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) and Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) all screen among the laggards.

For these names the weakness is not a war story. The group has kept sliding over the past quarter, extending a downtrend that was already in place before the first shot was fired.

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