Equities climbed again Thursday on optimism that the US and Iran will extend a fragile ceasefire in the Middle East and on signs of improvement in the labor market.
The S&P 500 Index closed 0.3% higher in New York, hitting another record as the energy and real estate sectors led gains. The US stock benchmark has posted only one daily decline so far in April and is up more than 7% this month.
The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.5%, also reaching a record, and extended its winning streak to 12 days, its longest since 2017. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2%.
“The trend remains positive, and sellers are not willing to fight the tape,” said Louis Navellier, chief investment officer at Navellier & Associates.
Oil prices rose Thursday as the US and Iran weighed an extension of their ceasefire agreement, which is set to end next week.
A busy week of financial-sector earnings continued to produce mixed results. Bank of New York Mellon Corp. shares rose after net interest income beat Wall Street estimates and the board authorized a new $10 billion share buyback plan. Charles Schwab Corp. shares slipped on a revenue miss even as total new assets solidly beat analyst expectations, as retail investors put more money into the market.
Stocks have also been buoyed by cooler-than-expected producer and import prices this week, and got another lift after initial jobless claims for the week ending April 11 came in below economist forecasts.
“The S&P 500's sharp rally off the late-March lows has been nothing short of impressive, but has the index moved too far, too fast?” Sevens Report founder Tom Essaye wrote Thursday, noting a drop-off in trading volumes.
Light volumes were also a focus for Kristian Kerr, LPL Financial's head of macro strategy, who noted that S&P 500 trading volume was below the year-to-date average in each of the last five sessions. “This suggests the move higher is being propelled more by short covering and forced positioning adjustments than by fresh capital being put to work.”
Among notable single-stock moves, PepsiCo shares climbed as sales and profits beat expectations
on a rebound in the Doritos and Lay's maker's snack business. Abbott Laboratories shares slipped after the pharmaceutical company cut its full-year profit forecast.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s US-listed shares slipped even after the chipmaker said Thursday it that sees 2026 sales growing above 30% in US dollar terms. Elon Musk's team is seeking quotes from chip suppliers including Applied Materials Inc. and Lam Research Corp., both of which advanced, to move at “light speed” on his Terafab project to break into the chipmaking business.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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