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Stocks rose on Wednesday after President Donald Trump extended the U.S. ceasefire with Iran, while upbeat earnings reports also lifted sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded 341.27 points to 49,490.65.
The S&P 500 index climbed 73.9 points, or 1.1%, to 7,137.92.
The NASDAQ hiked 397.60 points, or 1.6%, to 24,657,57, having achieved an intraday high earlier on the session.
Shortly after Tuesday’s close, Trump extended a two-week U.S. ceasefire, saying it was warranted due to Tehran’s “seriously fractured” government.
But the timeline remains dicey, after a lack of commitment from Tehran reportedly resulted in a pause in Vice President JD Vance’s trip to join peace talks. Iranian state media also reported that negotiators from Tehran said they wouldn’t appear as talks with the U.S. were a “waste of time.”
Even after Trump extended the ceasefire, Iran’s navy said Wednesday that it had seized two container ships in the Strait of Hormuz as tensions persist in the key waterway.
Aside from the ceasefire announcement, sentiment has been supported by a strong start to earnings season.
On Wednesday, Boeing shares rose $12.12, or 5.5% to $231.28, after the company reported a smaller-than-expected loss for the first quarter. GE Vernova shares jumped $136.36, or 13.8%, to $1,127.56 after the company’s first-quarter revenue topped expectations.
The two are among the more than 80% of S&P 500 companies that have reported so far that have surpassed expectations.
AT&T shares squeezed up 10 cents, to $25.98, after the company posted first-quarter results that beat analyst expectations. The telecom giant earned an adjusted 57 cents per share on revenue of $31.5 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG expected a profit of 55 cents per share on revenue of $31.25 billion.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury waned, raising yields back to Tuesday’s 4.31%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $2.88 to $92.55 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices perked $39.50 to $4,759.10 U.S. an ounce.
