US close: S&P 500, Nasdaq hit new records despite Iran uncertainty

15th Apr 2026 22:27

(Sharecast News) - US stocks finished mostly higher, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq logging new record closing highs despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, with another strong round of bank earnings lifting sentiment.

The S&P 500 rose 0.8% to a new peak of 7,022.95, while the Nasdaq jumped 1.6% to an all-time closing high of 24,016.02. The Dow, however, finished 0.2% lower, pulling back after hitting a six-week high on Tuesday.

The price-weighted Dow is susceptible to sharp swings when constituents like Goldman and Caterpillar make big moves. Both stocks, which account for 11.4% and 9.8% of the index by weight respectively given their higher share prices, finished firmly in the red. Goldman in particular pulled back despite beating expectations with its first-quarter results on Monday as the near-80% rally over the past 12 months began to stall.

Nevertheless, sector peers Morgan Stanley and Bank of America both smashed market estimates with their own quarterly earnings on Wednesday, rounding off a strong earnings season for the industry, with JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup also topping forecasts earlier in the week.

"The market volatility seen in recent weeks may not be good news for investors' blood pressure or their portfolios, but for the trading divisions of the big US banks it has proved a boon," said AJ Bell's head of financial analysis Danni Hewson.

Turning to Iran, comments from Donald Trump that the conflict was "very close to over" boosted the mood on Wall Street.

Reports on Wednesday indicated that Washington and Tehran had reached an "in principle agreement" to extend their fragile two‑week ceasefire, according to regional officials cited by the Associated Press, though a senior US official later told CNBC the US had not formally agreed to an extension. Further negotiations were said to be under discussion, with Trump telling the New York Post that fresh talks in Islamabad "could be happening over the next two days".

Trump also downplayed market turbulence and said oil prices would soon ease as he defended US military operations, saying Washington must prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, and predicting that once the conflict ends "the stock market is going to boom".

WTI crude was more or less unchanged on the day at $91.40 a barrel, while Brent settled marginally higher at $94.93 - both stabilising after some wild swings over the past two weeks.

Investors were also digesting a host of economic data, which included US mortgage applications posting their first rise in five weeks, US import prices increasing for the third month in a row, and manufacturing activity in New York State picking up sharply in April.

In other news, shares in Stellantis rose after the automaker reported a 12% rise in global shipments in the first quarter, driven by 17% growth in North America, which accounted for 0.38m of its 1.4m vehicles sold.

Snapchat parent Snap rose nearly 8% after announcing that it was going to cut around 1,000 staff members, including 16% of its full-time employees. The firm said the changes would result in a $500m reduction of its annualised cost base.

Dow Jones - Risers

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $411.22 4.67%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $177.60 3.67%

Nike Inc. (NKE) $45.44 2.81%

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $266.43 2.22%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $64.94 2.16%

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $244.80 1.89%

Visa Inc. (V) $315.91 1.46%

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $306.26 1.00%

American Express Co. (AXP) $329.06 0.64%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $82.36 0.45%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $770.17 -3.03%

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $117.90 -1.72%

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $305.93 -1.67%

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $184.91 -1.13%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $899.49 -1.11%

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $338.91 -1.11%

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $45.03 -0.99%

3M Co. (MMM) $151.24 -0.86%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $348.22 -0.85%

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $38.84 -0.82%

S&P 500 - Risers

CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $8.59 10.13%

Robert Half Inc. (RHI) $27.59 8.71%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $456.23 6.70%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $365.00 5.69%

Kohls Corp. (KSS) $14.30 4.99%

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. (ARE) $47.61 4.89%

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $396.72 4.77%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $411.22 4.67%

Morgan Stanley (MS) $191.62 4.52%

Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $176.84 4.52%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (SWK) $67.18 -6.94%

Smith A O Corp. (AOS) $63.37 -5.32%

Newmont Corporation (NEM) $113.04 -5.25%

Fortune Brands Innovations, Inc. (FBIN) $38.60 -4.86%

Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $90.38 -4.28%

Ipg Photonics Corp. (IPGP) $121.32 -4.22%

Wabtec Corp. (WAB) $257.38 -4.07%

Allegion (ALLE) $141.64 -3.66%

Flowserve Corp. (FLS) $78.82 -3.45%

Xylem Inc (XYL) $125.19 -3.45%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $2.55 15.38%

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $391.95 9.59%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $456.23 6.70%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $365.00 5.69%

Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $120.94 4.97%

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $396.72 4.77%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $411.22 4.67%

Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $176.84 4.52%

JD.com, Inc. (JD) $31.47 4.36%

Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $671.58 4.09%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $134.69 -5.18%

Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $220.29 -2.30%

KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $1,748.11 -2.07%

Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $56.58 -1.96%

Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $1,481.77 -1.92%

PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $123.48 -1.88%

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $60.39 -1.67%

DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $12.05 -1.59%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $265.16 -1.55%

Fastenal Co. (FAST) $44.40 -1.31%