WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After coming under pressure late in the previous session, stocks showed a significant move back to the upside in early trading on Thursday and continued to turn in a strong performance throughout the day.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the way higher, surging 496.28 points or 1.9 percent to 26,517.93. The S&P 500 also jumped 80.48 points or 1.1 percent to 7,500.58, while the narrower Dow posted a much more modest gain, inching up 72.15 points or 0.1 percent to 51,564.70.
For the holiday shortened week, the Nasdaq shot up by 2.4 percent, the S&P 500 advanced by 0.9 percent and the Dow climbed by 0.7 percent.
The rebound on Wall Street partly reflected a positive reaction to news the U.S. and Iran have officially signed a preliminary agreement to end the Middle East war.
U.S. President Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian have each signed the memorandum of understanding setting up negotiations to reach a permanent peace deal
The MoU will enter into force with immediate effect and as a first step, Iran will reopen the Strait of Hormuz and the United States will lift the naval blockade of Iranian ports.
As per the 14-point framework deal, the U.S. and Iranian teams will begin talks to reach a final deal over the next 60 days.
The news has contributed to a steep drop by the price of crude oil, with crude oil futures pulling back further toward the levels seen before the war began in late February.
'That has huge significance for inflation and interest rates, as well as business, consumer and investor sentiment,' said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell. 'It takes the pressure off industries and households and is hugely positive for global economic growth.'
Intel (INTC) also helped lead a rally by semiconductor stocks, with the chipmaker soaring by 10.6 percent to a record intraday high.
The surge by Intel came after Trump said in a post on Truth Social that Apple (AAPL) has agreed to work with the company to design and build its chips in the U.S.
In U.S. economic news, a report released by the Labor Department showed a modest pullback in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended June 13th.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims dipped to 226,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week's revised level of 230,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 225,000 from the 229,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Sector News
With Intel leading the way higher, semiconductor stocks spiked, driving the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up by 6.4 percent to a record closing high.
The steel drop by the price of crude oil has also contributed to substantial strength among airline stocks, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index surging by 3.8 percent.
Computer hardware and housing stocks are also seeing significant strength, while energy and gold stocks moved sharply lower.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged by 1.7 percent to a record high, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shed 1.6 percent.
The major European markets also ended the day mixed. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slumped by 1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both climbed by 0.4 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries gave back ground after an early rebound but managed to close modestly higher. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, dipped 1.2 basis points to 4.451 percent.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
