Traders celebrating at the New York Stock Exchange on April 15, 2026, as the S&P 500 (^GSPC) closed above the 7,000 level for the first time in history, setting a new record high.
NYSE
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite hit fresh record highs on Thursday, adding to their strong gains this week, on optimism for a resolution to the Iran war.
The broad market index rose 0.2%, while the Nasdaq fell 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 134 points, or 0.3%.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both hit key milestones on Wednesday, with the former closing above 7,000 for the first time and the latter seeing its first close above 24,000.
The moves came after President Donald Trump said in a prerecorded Fox Business interview that aired on Wednesday that the Iran war is “very close to over,” claiming that Tehran wants to “make a deal very badly.”
Trump also announced Wednesday that talks between Israel and Lebanon will take place Thursday. Israel halting its attacks on Lebanon has been a key condition for Iran war negotiations beginning, the speaker of Iran’s parliament has said.
For Washington and Tehran, a second round of negotiations is under discussion, but nothing has been officially scheduled yet. That’s according to a White House official who asked not to be named to discuss the administration’s internal plans.
Stocks have risen in recent days on hopes for an eventual peace deal between the U.S. and Iran. The S&P 500 started off the week by wiping out all of its losses since the beginning of the Iran war.
“We’re basically back to where we were in late February in terms of the sentiment indicators and the valuation,” Tim Hayes, chief global investment strategist at Ned Davis Research, said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime” on Wednesday. “If we’re going to continue higher, I think we are going to have to have a broadening out here and not be just about the Nasdaq.”
But Hayes also took on a cautionary tone, noting that investors may be too quick to jump into a market rally.
“I’d be a little cautious right now. I don’t think this is time to jump back in,” he added. “There’s a sort of a quick return to a lot of these stocks, but does it follow through? Does it broaden out? That remains to be seen.”
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