S&P 500, Nasdaq close at records on tech lift, Iran peace talk hopes

NEW YORK, April 24 (Reuters) – The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at record highs on Friday, bolstered by optimism for potential negotiations between the U.S. and Iran to end their war and a surge in Intel shares that extended the rally in semiconductor stocks.

Pakistani government sources said Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, was expected in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on Friday to discuss proposals for restarting peace talks.

In addition, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an interview with Fox News that President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner will travel to Islamabad on Saturday morning for talks with Iran mediated by Pakistan.

Markets had rallied in recent weeks on hopes that a resolution to the Iran war was on the horizon, along with expectations of strong corporate earnings, but gains have been tempered this week as optimism for a peace deal dimmed, with the Strait of Hormuz remaining shuttered.

“The Iran thing feels kind of tenuous, we’ve had a lot of back and forth. I assume that will continue, but for now, some rays of sunlight,” said Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management in St. Louis, Missouri.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 56.33 points, or 0.79%, to end at 7,164.73 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 395.35 points, or 1.61%, to 24,833.86. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 83.25 points, or 0.17%, to 49,221.11.

Semiconductors, one of the market’s strongest performers on the year, continued to rally. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index advanced to extend its record run of gains to 18 consecutive sessions.

Intel hit a record high and was the best performer on the benchmark S&P index, following a better-than-expected revenue forecast for the second quarter.

“All the doubts and fears about the (return on investment) on the AI CapEx from the big tech companies – Amazon and Google and Microsoft and Meta – those concerns are fading real fast, and that’s propelling the chip stocks and the contractors and all the industrial companies,” said Ellerbroek.

Fellow chipmakers AMD and Arm also shot higher.

The S&P 500 technology index was the best-performing of the 11 major S&P sectors. Tech stocks also managed to shrug off DeepSeek’s preview of its highly awaited new model.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq recorded a fourth consecutive week of gains, their longest streak since the fourth quarter of 2024. The Dow, however, snapped a three-week run higher.

FED MEETING AWAITED

Attention is also shifting to the Federal Reserve meeting next week, which will be scrutinized for clues on rate cuts and the central bank’s leadership succession.

The U.S. Justice Department is closing its investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell, clearing an obstacle to the confirmation of Kevin Warsh, Trump’s pick to lead the central bank.

Markets were pricing in a roughly 39% chance for a cut of at least 25 basis points at the Fed’s December meeting, according to CME’s FedWatch Tool, up from about 23% in the prior session.

A strong start to earnings season has helped buttress stocks against volatile Iran news. Earnings growth expectations for the first quarter now stand at 16.1%, according to LSEG data, up from 14.4% at the start of April.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak in New York; Addtional Reporting by Niket Nishant and Avinash P in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath, Maju Samuel and Matthew Lewis)