More than 80% of S&P 500 companies reporting so far have topped expectations, with Boeing and GE Vernova among the standouts
Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images
The Nasdaq Composite hit a new all-time intraday high Wednesday after President Donald Trump extended a ceasefire with Iran and a strong start to first-quarter earnings season lifted investor sentiment. The Nasdaq was up about 1.4% in afternoon trading, while the S&P 500 added 0.8% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 235 points, or 0.5%.
Shortly after Tuesday's close, Trump announced on Truth Social that he was extending the two-week ceasefire, citing Iran's "seriously fractured" government and requests from Pakistani officials. Trump said he had directed the U.S. military to maintain a blockade of Iranian ports while awaiting a unified proposal from Tehran.
But the ceasefire extension did not seem to ease tensions in the region. Iran's navy seized two container ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, and Iranian state media reported that Tehran's negotiators called talks with the U.S. a "waste of time." Brent crude topped $101 a barrel, adding about 3.4%, as the key waterway remained largely closed to commercial traffic.
Despite the uncertainty, equity investors appeared focused on earnings. Roughly 80% to 85% of S&P 500 companies that have reported so far this quarter have exceeded analyst expectations, according to The Wall Street Journal and FactSet data cited by CNBC. A first-quarter report showing narrowed losses and robust orders for commercial jets sent Boeing stock up about 5%. Shares of GE Vernova surged roughly 12% after the energy company posted first-quarter earnings and revenue that far exceeded what Wall Street had anticipated, and it lifted its outlook for the full year. Quarterly results that cleared analyst targets drove Boston Scientific up 8.6% and Philip Morris International up 6.9%.
The Strait of Hormuz, which handled more than 100 vessel crossings daily before the war, has seen traffic collapse to a fraction of that volume. The U.S. blockade of Iranian ports along the strait has kept Iran from selling its own crude oil, while Iran's restrictions on commercial shipping have kept oil prices elevated. Before the war, Brent crude traded near $70 a barrel; since then it has swung as high as $119, though prices have since retreated from that peak.
Trump, who told CNBC earlier this week that he had expected the S&P 500 and the Dow to fall by as much as 20% when the war began, said he was surprised by the market's resilience. Having already recovered all of its Iran war losses, the S&P 500 was heading toward what would be its 13th winning session out of the past 16. The index had previously climbed more than 10% from its March lows.
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