WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks moved sharply higher early in the session on Wednesday and saw further upside as the day progressed. The major averages added to the gains posted during Tuesday's session, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 reaching new record closing highs.
The major averages ended the day just off their highs of the session. The Nasdaq surged 512.82 points or 2 percent to 25,838.94, the S&P 500 shot up 105.90 points or 1.5 percent to 7,365.12 and the Dow jumped 612.34 points or 1.2 percent to 49,910.59.
The rally on Wall Street came amid optimism about an end to the conflict in the Middle East after a report from Axios said the White House believes it's getting close to an agreement with Iran on a one-page memorandum of understanding.
Citing two U.S. officials and two other sources briefed on the issue, Axios said the deal would include Iran committing to a moratorium on nuclear enrichment and both sides lifting restrictions around transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
While noting that nothing has been agreed yet, the sources told Axios this was the closest the parties had been to an agreement since the war began.
Adding to the optimism about a peace deal, President Donald Trump said the U.S. would pause its efforts to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz to see whether or not the agreement can be finalized and signed.
The strength on Wall Street also came amid a sharp increase by shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), with the chipmaker soaring by 18.6 percent.
AMD surged after reporting first quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines and providing upbeat second quarter guidance.
On the U.S. economic front, payroll processor ADP released a report showing private sector employment in the U.S. jumped by more than expected in the month of April.
ADP said private sector employment shot up by 109,000 jobs in April after climbing by a downwardly revised 61,000 jobs in March.
Economists had expected private sector employment to grow by 85,000 jobs compared to the addition of 62,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
Sector News
Gold stocks skyrocketed amid a sharp increase by the price of the precious metal, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index soaring by 7.6 percent.
Substantial strength was also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 7.2 percent spike by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.
Airline stocks also showed a significant move to the upside, driving the NYSE Arca Airline Index up by 6.9 percent.
Semiconductor, steel and biotechnology stocks also turned in strong performances on the day, while energy stocks moved sharply lower along with the price of crude oil.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday. With the Japanese markets still closed, China's Shanghai Composite Index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index both jumped by 1.2 percent.
The major European markets also showed strong moves to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index surged by 2.9 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 2.1 percent and the German DAX Index shot up by 2.2 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries moved sharply higher, extending the rebound seen in the previous session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, slumped by 6.0 basis points to 4.356 percent.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
