Wall Street stocks climbed on Wednesday as investors weighed reports that the US and Iran may be closing in on a peace deal and a solid earnings season for tech companies continued.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) jumped roughly 0.8%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) both gained roughly 0.7% following fresh record closes for Wall Street stocks.
Investors were assessing an Axios report that the US believes it’s close to an agreement with Iran on a one-page memo to end their war. Optimism for a Middle East peace deal had already got a boost from President Trump’s abrupt pause on the US plan to help ships transit the Strait of Hormuz.
Upbeat tech earnings were also buoying markets, as chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) stock surged 15% after an upbeat earnings report and current quarter forecast. Meanwhile, Supermicro (SMCI) rallied 17% following stronger-than-anticipated quarterly guidance.
Upbeat investor sentiment has been supported by a steady stream of earnings beats. Roughly 85% of reporting S&P 500 companies have exceeded profit expectations, while about 77% have delivered upside revenue surprises.
Jobs data has been in focus this week. A report from payroll data provider ADP on Wednesday morning showed that the US added 109,000 private-sector jobs in April. April’s layoff announcement data from the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas will land on Thursday.
