WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Friday but largely maintained a positive bias before ending the day mostly higher. The Dow led the way higher, although all three major averages ended the day at new record closing highs.
The Dow climbed 363.49 points or 0.7 percent to 51,032.46, while the Nasdaq increased 55.15 points or 0.2 percent to 26,972.62 and the S&P 500 rose 16.43 points or 0.2 percent to 7,580.06.
For the holiday-shortened week, the Nasdaq surged by 2.4 percent, the S&P 500 jumped by 1.4 percent and the Dow advanced by 0.9 percent.
The higher close on Wall Street came as traders generally remain optimistic about a U.S.-Iran deal but seemed to be waiting for more concrete developments before making more significant moves.
Recent reports have suggested the U.S. and Iran have agreed to a framework for a 60-day extension of the ceasefire.
The agreement would purportedly facilitate the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and enable fresh negotiations over Iran's nuclear program, although President Donald Trump has yet to sign off on the deal.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he will be meeting with advisors in the situation room to make a 'final determination' on the agreement.
Trump indicated certain less important issues have been agreed to but said Iran must agree they will never have a nuclear weapon and to immediately reopen the Strait or Homuz with no tolls.
Positive sentiment may have been generated in reaction a sharp increase by shares of Dell Technologies (DELL), with the computer maker skyrocketing by more than 33.7 percent.
The rally by Dell came after the company reported better than expected fiscal first quarter results and raised its full-year guidance.
Sector News
With Dell helping lead the way higher, computer hardware stocks skyrocketed on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index up by 8.6 percent to a new record closing high.
NetApp (NTAP) also posted a standout gain, with the data infrastructure company soaring by 22.4 percent after reporting better than expected fiscal fourth quarter results and providing upbeat guidance.
Substantial strength was also visible among software stocks, as reflected by the 6.2 percent spike by the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index. The index reached its best closing level in four months.
Gold and brokerage stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, while telecom, retail and natural gas stocks showed notable moves to the downside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged by 2.5 percent and South Korea's Kospi spiked by 3.6 percent, reaching record closing highs.
Meanwhile, the major European markets ended the day narrowly mixed. While the German DAX Index crept up by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index edged down by 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index dipped by 0.2 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries turned in a relatively lackluster performance being closed roughly flat. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, edged down by less than a basis point to 4.453 percent.
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