US close: Indices extend gains on Iran ceasefire hopes, software stocks sink

9th Apr 2026 22:14

(Sharecast News) - US stocks rose on Thursday with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq booking their seventh straight day of gains on the back of hopes surrounding the US-Iran ceasefire deal, even though cracks were beginning to show in the market's optimism.

Investors were also digesting a list of important US economic data releases, which included inflation rising in line with expectations and economic growth slowing more than initially reported for the fourth quarter of 2025.

The Dow and S&P 500 both finished the session 0.6% higher, while the Nasdaq gained 0.8%, extending gains after all three benchmarks surged the previous day to their highest levels in five weeks.

The Dow, in particular, on Wednesday posted its best single-day performance since April 2025.

The mood was decidedly more wary following the previous day's relief rally as Iran said the ceasefire had already been violated by Israel following its worst attack on Lebanon since the start of the conflict. Israel hit 100 targets in 10 minutes, leaving 203 dead and more than 1000 wounded, according to the country's Health Ministry.

However, according to reports before the close, Benjamin Netanyahu wants to start direct talks with Lebanon "as soon as possible". The Israeli prime minister said in a statement that the talks "will focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon".

Despite the ceasefire deal between the US and Iran looking increasingly fragile, gains on Wall Street were helped by comments from Donald Trump who said he was "very optimistic" that a peace deal was within reach.

Oil prices rebounded partially after sinking by their most since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic on Wednesday - Brent and WTI dropped 13% and 16% respectively - with Brent settling 1.2% higher at $95.92 a barrel and WTI rising 3.7% at $97.87 in early-evening trade.

"Oil's move back below $100 seems fated to be reversed, which puts equity markets at risk of fresh falls," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.

Economic data

In economic data, the US personal consumption expenditures price index increased 0.4% month-on-month in February after a 0.3% gain in January, in line with expectations, while annual PCE growth held steady at 2.8%.

Real GDP rose at an annualised 0.5% rate in the fourth quarter, compared to a 4.4% expansion in the third quarter. The latest estimate marked a 0.2‑percentage‑point downward revision from the prior reading, reflecting weaker investment.

US jobless claims rose 16,000 to a seasonally adjusted 219,000 in the week to 4 April, ahead of forecasts of 210,000.

Finally, US wholesale inventories rose 0.8% to $919.6bn in February, the most since January 2025, following a downwardly revised 0.3% decrease in January.

Software stocks sink

Software stocks were under pressure, with Intuit, Gen Digital, Autodesk, Adobe and Workday all posting heavy losses, on speculation that Anthropic's new AI model could disrupt the industry more than previously expected. The Claude AI maker said its revenue run rate has now already surpassed $30bn, up from $9bn at the end of 2025.

Meta Platforms rose strongly after striking a $21bn deal with CoreWeave, as the owner of Facebook and WhatsApp continues to expand its AI infrastructure. Under the terms of the deal, CoreWeave will provide AI cloud capacity for the tech giant until December 2032, starting from 2027. It builds on an earlier $14bn agreement between the two US firms, signed in September, which lasts until 2031.

Meanwhile, shares in Intel were rising after the announcement of an expanded deal with Alphabet's Google that will see the semiconductor group provide the search-engine giant with central processing units for its AI data centres.

Dow Jones - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $61.72 10.69%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $355.60 3.81%

Nike Inc. (NKE) $44.00 2.02%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $787.07 2.01%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $83.17 1.86%

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $260.49 1.26%

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $146.66 1.21%

Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $78.18 1.15%

Boeing Co. (BA) $220.06 1.04%

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $339.58 1.02%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $38.04 -3.16%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $170.85 -3.13%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $373.07 -2.02%

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $237.18 -1.89%

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $190.36 -1.31%

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $47.78 -0.54%

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $122.68 -0.41%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $903.72 -0.22%

Visa Inc. (V) $308.29 -0.22%

Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%

S&P 500 - Risers

Brown Forman Corp. Class B (BF.B) $30.31 12.89%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $61.72 10.69%

Constellation Brands Inc. Class A (STZ) $163.07 8.47%

Sba Communications Corp. (SBAC) $218.46 6.30%

Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG) $22.66 6.24%

CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $7.48 5.50%

Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $233.65 5.16%

Under Armour Inc. Class A (UAA) $6.27 4.67%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $258.76 4.55%

Diamondback Energy Inc. (FANG) $186.31 4.54%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Intuit Inc. (INTU) $361.69 -10.42%

Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) $18.37 -7.88%

Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $225.13 -7.16%

Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $230.26 -6.87%

Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $229.94 -6.49%

Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $123.67 -6.27%

F5 Inc. (FFIV) $294.59 -6.12%

Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $109.61 -6.02%

Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $102.60 -5.92%

Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $169.41 -5.88%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $61.72 10.69%

Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $233.65 5.16%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $258.76 4.55%

Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $102.05 4.11%

Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $628.39 4.01%

Fastenal Co. (FAST) $49.10 3.98%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $355.60 3.81%

KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $1,727.26 3.71%

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $397.81 3.50%

Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $214.98 3.49%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $113.06 -11.97%

Intuit Inc. (INTU) $361.69 -10.42%

Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) $18.37 -7.88%

Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $225.13 -7.16%

Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $230.26 -6.87%

Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $229.94 -6.49%

Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $123.67 -6.27%

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $141.85 -5.96%

Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $108.23 -5.95%

Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $102.60 -5.92%