S&P 500, Nasdaq end at records as Intel shares surge ~ EconomyLens.com

New York (AFP) – Major Wall Street indices closed at fresh records as markets cheered the latest batch of earnings reports and US and Iranian officials headed to Pakistan for expected peace talks. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq powered to all-time highs, bolstered in part by the market’s euphoric response to results from Intel. The chip company surged 23.6 percent.

Earnings strength “is a driver that is hard to ignore and is a key behind the market’s resilience,” said Angelo Kourkafas from Edward Jones. Profit margin growth thus far for S&P 500 companies is 13.4 percent for the first quarter year over year, according to an earnings insight note from Factset. If that holds through to the end of the quarter, it will be a record since the investment platform began tracking the benchmark in 2009, Factset said.

Markets also greeted signs that Washington and Tehran are set to resume direct talks. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Islamabad on Friday, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said, announcing plans to meet with Pakistan’s senior leadership. Iranian officials made no mention of new talks with US representatives. But White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump emissaries Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would head to Pakistan on Saturday “to engage in talks… with representatives from the Iranian delegation.”

“The Iranians reached out, as the president called on them to do, and asked for this in-person conversation,” she said, adding that the conversations would “hopefully move the ball forward towards a deal.” Oil prices had a mixed day, with Brent oil futures edging higher to again finish above $100 a barrel, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate dropped 1.5 percent to $94.40 a barrel.

Markets are monitoring for fresh developments on the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for oil transport that Iran has mostly shut down to tankers. Global stock markets have recently managed to recover the heavy losses they suffered at the start of the war, with first-quarter earnings in many cases beating estimates and helping the S&P 500 and Nasdaq set fresh records. Chipmakers in particular continue to outperform thanks to continued optimism about growth in the artificial intelligence sector.

The jump in Intel shares came after the chipmaker, which was late to the AI game, forecast rising revenue on continued strong demand for its chips used in data centers. Investors were also looking to position themselves ahead of next week’s slew of earnings from US tech titans Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple.

European stocks ended lower, with Frankfurt weighed down by data showing that German business morale had fallen to the lowest level since the Covid pandemic. “The German economy is being hit hard by the Iran crisis,” said Ifo president Clemens Fuest. “Companies are considerably more pessimistic about the coming months.”

– Key figures at 2010 GMT –

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.3 percent at $105.33 a barrel

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.5 percent at $94.40 a barrel

New York – Dow Jones: DOWN 0.2 percent at 49,230.71 (close)

New York – S&P 500: UP 0.8 percent at 7,165.08 (close)

New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 1.6 percent at 24,836.60 (close)

London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.8 percent at 10,379.08 (close)

Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.8 percent at 8,175.82 (close)

Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.1 percent at 24,128.98 (close)

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.0 percent at 59,716.18 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.2 percent at 25,978.07 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 4,079.90 (close)