US stocks closed at fresh records on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.2%, the Nasdaq Composite climbing 0.4% to a new high and the S&P 500 adding about 0.2% to another all-time peak. The move came as investors weighed new signs of easing Middle East tensions, a stream of corporate earnings and a batch of fresh economic data.
President Trump said on Truth Social that Israel and Lebanon had reached a 10-day ceasefire agreement, while reports said the US and Iran were in indirect discussions to extend their two-week ceasefire before it expires on April 22. Both sides are said to favor an extension, and Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that the US was still “very much engaged in these negotiations.” That helped extend a rally that has already pushed the S&P 500 through the 7,000 level in the previous session, with the benchmark and the Nasdaq now posting a second record in a row.
The market’s latest climb was broad enough to pull in energy, consumer discretionary and technology shares, with tech continuing to lead the rally over the past 12 days. The economic backdrop was mixed but not enough to slow the advance: initial jobless claims fell to 207,000 in the week ended April 11, while industrial production slowed 0.5% in March. Investors also got a round of earnings that topped expectations at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and PepsiCo, while Charles Schwab beat profit estimates but missed on revenue.
The day’s biggest postmarket reaction came from Netflix, whose shares sank more than 9% after the company reported first-quarter revenue of $12.3 billion and earnings per share of $1.23. Netflix forecast current-quarter earnings of $0.78 per share, and said Reed Hastings will step down from the board after 29 years with the company. The numbers did little to dent the broader tone on Thursday, but they did underscore how much of the market’s strength has rested on expectations that earnings and policy headlines will keep breaking in investors’ favor.
For now, that is the story of Dow Jones stock markets: a rally powered by easing geopolitical risk, solid company results and economic data that was soft in places but not weak enough to change the trend. The next test is whether the ceasefire diplomacy holds through April 22 and whether the market can keep setting records once the current burst of relief has faded.