U.S. stock markets closed mostly higher on Wednesday on renewed hopes of further negotiations to end the Middle East crisis. Strong first-quarter earnings results also boosted market participants sentiment on risky assets like equities. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite ended in positive territory while the Dow finished in the red.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 0.2% to close at 48,463.72. Notably, 19 components of the 30-stock index ended in negative territory while 11 ended in positive territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 24,016.02, advancing 1.6% or 376.93 points due to the solid performance by technology bigwigs, especially AI giants. This marked the tech-laden index’s new record close. At intraday high, the index touched an all-time high of 24,026.56.
The S&P 500 gained 0.8% to finish at 7,022.95, reflecting the benchmark’s new record closing high. At intraday high, the index touched an all-time high of 7,026.24. Eight out of 11 sectors of the broad-market index ended in positive territory while three ended in negative territory.
The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY), the Information Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK), the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLC) and the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR (XLRE) rose 2.2%, 1.6%, 1.5% and 1%, respectively. On the other hand, the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) tumbled 2%.
The fear gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 1% to 18.17, marking its lowest level since Feb. 26. A total of 18.66 billion shares were traded on Wednesday, lower than the last 20-session average of 19.18 billion. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 1.2-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, a 1.47-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues.
Middle East Peace Hope Rises
On Monday, President Donald Trump said “We’ve been called by the other side.” He added, “They’d like to make a deal very badly.” On Tuesday, Trump told the New York Times that renewed peace talks may start in Pakistan within the next two days. On Wednesday, President Trump reiterated his statement on the Iran war in an interview with Fox Business.
Strong Q1 Earnings Results
Bank of America Corp.’s BAC first-quarter 2026 earnings of $1.11 per share handily surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.00. The bottom line grew 24.7% year over year. Quarterly net revenues were $30.27 billion, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $29.94 billion. The top line rose 7.2% from the prior-year quarter.
Morgan Stanley’s MS first-quarter 2026 earnings were $3.43 per share, which outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.06. The bottom line jumped 32% from the prior-year quarter. Quarterly net revenues were a record $20.58 billion, up 16% from the prior-year quarter. The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $19.85 billion.
The Progressive Corp.’s PGR first-quarter 2026 earnings per share of $4.96 beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.5%. The bottom line increased 6.7% year over year. Operating revenues grew 8.2% year over year to $22.3 billion, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.2%.
Consequently, stock prices of Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and The Progressive rose 1.8%, 4.5% and 2.4%, respectively. The three stocks currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Economic Data
The NY Empire State Manufacturing Index for April jumped to 11, in contrast to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of -0.5. The reading for March was -0.2.
For the week ended April 10, U.S. commercial crude oil inventories (excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve) decreased by 0.9 million barrels from the previous week.
The National Association of Home Builders/ Wells Fargo Housing Market Index for newly built single-family homes fell four points to 34 in April.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).