Wall Street Closes Higher on Iran War Hopes

U.S. stocks rose on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average touching an intraday record as investors welcomed signs of progress in talks aimed at ending the conflict in the Middle East, along with a strong earnings season.

The S&P 500 posted gains for an eighth straight week, its longest winning streak since a nine-week run that ended in December 2023. Preliminary data showed the index up 27.84 points, or 0.36%, at 7,473.56 at the close.

The Nasdaq Composite added 50.87 points, or 0.20%, to 26,346.27, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 294.90 points, or 0.59%, to 50,580.56.

Most semiconductor shares, which have led Wall Street's latest gains, also advanced. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose on gains in Qualcomm, while Nvidia fell.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday that the United States had made some progress toward reaching an agreement with Iran, but that more work remained. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said the differences between the two sides were still large.

James St. Aubin, chief investment officer at Ocean Park Asset Management in Santa Monica, California, said, “The earnings season really seemed good, and the economic data, with a few anomalies, seemed really great, so the picture already looks strong.”

He added, “War was one of the main obstacles on the road, at least for the stock market, but I think today's headlines looked encouraging, and perhaps that made a marginal contribution.”

Shares of U.S. computer makers rose after Lenovo reported strong results, including a 27% jump in quarterly revenue that beat expectations. Dell Technologies hit an all-time high, and HP shares also climbed.

Workday shares rose after the human resources software provider beat expectations for first-quarter revenue and profit.