US close: S&P 500, Nasdaq hit new highs, oil prices gain

(Sharecast News) - US stock markets finished marginally higher on Thursday, pushing the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to new records for the second straight day despite ongoing uncertainty in the Middle East, with tech stocks leading the charge.

The Dow finished 0.2% higher at 48,578.72, its highest since 4 March, while the S&P 500 rose 0.3% to a new high of 7,041.28 and the Nasdaq gained 0.4% to a fresh peak of 24,102.70.

Stocks in the chip sector gained, including blue chips Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom, continuing their recent rally, helped by record revenues reported from the world's largest contract semiconductor manufacturer TSMC.

Reports that Lebanon and Israel have agreed to a 10-day ceasefire also helped stocks higher on Wall Street. In a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump said that the leaders of the two nations signed off a temporary truce, beginning at 1700 EST (2100 BST).

However, market sentiment remained fragile as investors cautiously await progress in peace talks between the US and Iran. Hopes for a potential deal between Washington and Tehran continued to build after Trump said the war was "very close to over", claiming that Iran wanted to "make a deal very badly".

A White House official told CNBC that a second round of negotiations was under discussion, though nothing had yet been formally scheduled.

The US and Iran were also reportedly in indirect talks about a potential two-week extension to the ceasefire agreement that is due to expire on 22 April. According to Bloomberg, citing a person familiar with the matter, an extension is being considered to allow more time to negotiate a peace deal, reducing the risk of renewed fighting despite an intensifying standoff over the Strait of Hormuz.

However, WTI crude was 2.4% higher at $93.48 a barrel by the closing bell, while Brent had jumped 4.7% to settle at $99.39 a barrel, after the US Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth pledged to continue the blockade of Hormuz for "as long as it takes", and that the US was "locked and loaded" to resume attacking Iran's energy infrastructure if necessary.

In economic data on Thursday, US initial jobless claims dropped to 207,000 in the week ended 11 April from a downwardly revised 218,000 the week before. That figure was well below expectations for 215,000 and marked the largest weekly decline since February, suggesting layoffs remain limited as the labour market continues to show resilience.

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's manufacturing index rose to 26.7 from 18.1 in March, its highest reading since January 2025 and well above expectations for a drop to 10.

Finally, US capacity utilisation decreased to 75.70% in March, down from 76.10% in February, according to the Federal Reserve, while industrial production dropped 0.5%, missing expectations for a 0.1% uptick following February's 0.7% increase to marks the biggest fall in industrial activity since September 2024.

In the corporate space, food and beverage giant PepsiCo delivered betterthanexpected firstquarter revenue and earnings on Thursday, with price cuts across key snack brands helping its North American food division return to volume growth for the first time in more than two years.

As far as bank earnings were concerned, US Bancorp posted a 13.6% jump in Q1 profits, driven by improved interest income and fee revenues, while Bank of New York Mellon said total revenues had risen 13% year-on-year in the three months ended 31 March to a record $5.41bn.

Streaming giant Netflix was in focus ahead of its expected Q1 numbers due after the closing bell.

Dow Jones - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $68.50 8.04%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $420.26 4.57%

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $46.78 3.89%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $84.50 3.24%

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $39.92 2.78%

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $251.00 2.53%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $181.22 2.04%

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $188.15 1.75%

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $263.40 1.48%

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $309.95 1.31%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Boeing Co. (BA) $218.88 -2.26%

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $115.46 -2.07%

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $234.54 -1.73%

American Express Co. (AXP) $325.76 -1.00%

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $337.15 -0.52%

3M Co. (MMM) $150.55 -0.46%

Visa Inc. (V) $315.10 -0.26%

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $143.11 -0.19%

Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $75.18 -0.17%

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $298.84 -0.16%

S&P 500 - Risers

Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $215.62 16.31%

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $278.26 9.65%

Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $235.97 8.30%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $68.50 8.04%

CH Robinson Worldwide Inc (CHRW) $181.61 7.60%

Celanese Corp. (CE) $68.34 5.58%

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) $25.89 5.16%

Oracle Corp. (ORCL) $178.34 5.02%

Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $96.81 4.82%

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $238.32 4.68%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW) $92.62 -7.63%

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) $95.47 -6.00%

Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $265.95 -5.80%

Carnival Corp. (CCL) $27.31 -5.24%

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $20.03 -5.16%

General Electric Co. (GE) $298.29 -4.98%

Robert Half Inc. (RHI) $26.40 -4.31%

Transdigm Group Inc. (TDG) $1,228.23 -3.64%

Revvity, Inc. (RVTY) $89.53 -3.63%

IQVIA Holdings Inc. (IQV) $171.95 -3.45%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $235.97 8.30%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $68.50 8.04%

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $388.90 5.91%

Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $125.03 5.55%

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $238.32 4.68%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $420.26 4.57%

Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $29.35 3.99%

NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $118.38 3.82%

Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $531.81 3.76%

Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $24.73 3.69%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $0.79 -66.24%

Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $458.08 -3.20%

Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $54.10 -3.01%

Incyte Corp. (INCY) $95.32 -2.99%

Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,822.13 -2.17%

Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $569.95 -2.15%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $435.65 -2.12%

Biogen Inc (BIIB) $176.02 -2.04%

Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $1,410.83 -1.94%

Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $99.93 -1.78%