WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After moving to the downside early in the session, stocks have shown a notable turnaround over the course of the trading day on Thursday. The major averages have climbed well off their lows of the session and into positive territory.
Currently, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 are just off their highs of the session. The Nasdaq is up 144.75 points or 0.5 percent at 26,819.49 and the S&P 500 is up 33.22 points or 0.4 percent at 7,553.58, although the narrower Dow is up just 5.11 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 50,649.39.
The turnaround on Wall Street comes after a report from Axios said U.S. and Iranian negotiators have reached an agreement on a 60-day memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire and launch negotiations on Iran's nuclear program.
Citing two U.S. officials and a regional source involved in the mediation efforts, Axios noted President Donald Trump has yet to give his final approval.
Crude oil prices have pulled back well off their early highs following the report, with U.S. crude oil futures up by just 0.5 percent after surging as much as 4.3 percent.
The price of crude oil spiked overnight after reports the U.S. launched another round of 'self-defense strikes' in southern Iran, leading Tehran to retaliate by purportedly targeting a U.S. air base.
'Investors are still broadly positioned for a de-escalation scenario in the Middle East, but recent headlines are a reminder that the path toward any agreement remains fragile,' said Daniela Hathorn, Senior Market Analyst at Capital.com.
In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing consumer prices in the U.S. increased by slightly less than expected in the month of April.
The Commerce Department said its personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose by 0.4 percent in April after climbing by 0.7 percent in March. Economists had expected prices to increase by 0.5 percent.
The report also said the annual rate of growth by the PCE price index accelerated to 3.8 percent in April from 3.5 percent in March, in line with estimates.
Excluding food and energy prices, the core PCE price index crept up by 0.2 percent in April after rising by 0.3 percent in March. Core prices were expected to rise by another 0.3 percent.
The annual rate of growth by the core PCE price index ticked up to 3.3 percent in April from 3.2 percent, matching expectations.
Sector News
Computer hardware and software stocks have moved sharply higher on the day, contributing to the advance by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
Reflecting the strength in the sectors, the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index is up by 2.8 percent and the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index is up by 2.6 percent.
Significant strength is also visible among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 1.7 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index.
Pharmaceutical, healthcare and gold stocks are also seeing notable strength, while oil service stocks have moved to the downside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.5 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped by 1.3 percent.
The major European markets have also moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.8 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 0.4 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.3percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have moved modestly higher over the course of the session after seeing initial weakness. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 1.4 basis points at 4.467 percent.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
