WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Thursday but largely maintained a positive bias before ending the day moderately higher. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 added to the strong gains posted over the few days, reaching new record closing highs.
The major averages all finished the day in positive territory. The Nasdaq climbed 86.69 points or 0.4 percent to 24,102.70, the S&P 500 rose 18.33 points or 0.3 percent to 7,041.28 and the Dow increased 115.00 points or 0.2 percent to 48,578.72.
Stocks continued to benefit from the upward momentum seen over the past few weeks, which has helped the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 more than offset the nosedive seen in the weeks after the start of the U.S. war with Iran.
Traders also continued to express optimism about a second round of peace talks between the U.S. and Iran, although a new meeting has not been officially announced.
According to reports, the warring nations are considering extending the ceasefire by two weeks in order to allow more time for talks.
Adding to the positive sentiment, President Donald Trump announced in a post on Truth Social that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 10-day ceasefire.
Trump also said he has invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to the White House for peace talks.
Iran has been demanding that Israel halt its on attacks Hezbollah in Lebanon as part of the current ceasefire.
'It's like the events of the past month-and-a-half have been placed in the rearview mirror by investors,' said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell. 'The market's sanguine perspective may be tested if the rhetoric about an end to the fighting isn't matched by reality sooner rather than later.'
In U.S. economic news, the Federal Reserve released a report showing industrial production in the U.S. unexpectedly decreased in the month of March
The Fed said industrial production fell by 0.5 percent in March after climbing by 0.7 percent in February. Economists had expected industrial production to inch up by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.2 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.
The unexpected decrease in industrial production partly reflected significant pullbacks in utilities and mining output.
Sector News
Transportation stocks moved sharply higher on the day, driving the Dow Jones Transportation Average up by 4.1 percent to a record closing high.
J.B. Hunt (JBHT) helped lead the sector higher, with the transportation and logistics company spiking by 6.3 percent after reporting better than expected first quarter results.
Significant strength was also visible among telecom stocks, as reflected by the 3.8 percent surge by the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index.
Networking, computer hardware, software and oil producer stocks also saw considerable strength, while airline stocks showed a notable move to the downside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged by 2.4 percent to a record high, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shot up by 1.7 percent.
The major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index edged down by 0.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.3 percent and the German DAX Index climbed by 0.4 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries extended the pullback seen over the course of the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, increased 2.7 basis points to 4.309 percent.
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