U.S. stocks close at records highs

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 340.65 points, or 0.69%, to 49,490.03, the S&P 500 added 73.89 points, or 1.05%, to 7,137.90 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 397.60 points, or 1.64%, to 24,657.57

U.S. stocks jumped on Wednesday to send the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to closing records, after the ​U.S. president extended the ceasefire with Iran, with a round of solid corporate earnings providing additional support for optimism.

The president said ‌the indefinite extension of the ceasefire followed a request by Pakistani mediators. However, the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect, and Iran seized two ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

The opening of the waterway, responsible for nearly 20% of global oil supply, remains a major unknown for investors and has been one of the sticking points in the negotiations. Iran’s parliament speaker ​and top negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said a full ceasefire only made sense if the blockade was lifted.

Stocks have rallied in recent weeks on the ​belief that a peace deal could be on the horizon, with the Nasdaq snapping a streak of 13 straight daily ⁠gains on Monday.

Everyone’s kind of sick of it. Clearly, the market is looking for a beneficial outcome or some kind of decent outcome here, said Stephen Massocca, ​senior vice president at Wedbush Securities in San Francisco.

Earnings have been good – now, will they continue to be good if we continue to be at war – it’s going ​to lose a little bit of its oomph. That said, in my world, there’s still tremendous value, there’s a lot of really cheap stuff out there, he said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 340.65 points, or 0.69%, to 49,490.03, the S&P 500 added 73.89 points, or 1.05%, to 7,137.90 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 397.60 points, or 1.64%, to 24,657.57.

First-quarter earnings growth is tracking at ​nearly 14%, according to LSEG data.

However, risks of an inflation flare-up remain, with oil prices hovering near the $100-a-barrel mark and potentially moving higher.

The S&P 500 technology index jumped nearly 2.31% and was the best performing of the 11 major S&P sectors, led by gains in chip stocks such as Micron Technology, which surged 8.48% to end at a record $487.48. The tech ⁠index has advanced in 15 of the past 16 sessions.