Live Markets: S&P 500 and Nasdaq notch record closes for first time since start of Iran war

Ameriprise Financial

15/04/2026 21:19

Nasdaq up ~1.6%, S&P 500 rises ~0.8%; Dow off ~0.2%

S&P 500, Nasdaq notch record closes

Tech leads S&P 500 sector gainers; materials weakest group

Dollar flat, bitcoin up 0.7%; gold down 1%; US crude up slightly

US 10-year Treasury yield rises to ~4.28%

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S&P 500 AND NASDAQ NOTCH RECORD CLOSES FOR FIRST TIME SINCE START OF IRAN WAR

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq on Wednesday notched their record high closes since the U.S. launched it war against Iran, erasing the last of a steep selloff caused by the uncertainty about the conflict and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

The latest gains on Wall Street came amid fresh expectations of progress in U.S.-Iran negotiations to end the conflict and allow for the resumption of oil from the region.

U.S. President Donald Trump said the war he launched with Israel on Iran was close to over, while the army chief of mediator Pakistan arrived in Tehran to try to prevent a renewal of the conflict.

The S&P 500's previous record high close was on January 27, and the Nasdaq last notched a record close on October 29.

With Wednesday's gain, the S&P 500 has rebounded about 11% from its recent low on March 30, and the benchmark is now up 2.6% so far in 2026. The Nasdaq has jumped 15% from its March 30 low and is up 3.3% on the year.

Microsoft MSFT.O gained 4.6% and Tesla TSLA.O rallied 7.6% in Wednesday's session.

Also fueling gains are expectations of strong results from companies set to report their quarterly earnings in the next few weeks. Analysts on average expect S&P 500 aggregate earnings to grow 13.9% in the first quarter, despite uncertainty related to war in the Middle East.

"History has shown that its not a great idea to really bail on the market because of war news," said Chuck Carlson, Chief Executive Officer at Horizon Investment Services . "A lot of the stocks during a correction really get beaten up, especially in the tech sector. And so there was a restoration of values out there that I think has drawn investors back into certain stocks."

Here is our final snapshot:

(Noel Randewich and Lewis Krauskopf)

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S&P 500's forward PE still low as stocks surge https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/gdvzabdbxpw/Pasted%20image%201776271614647.png

Closing levels April 15 https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/zdpxgknwbvx/Pasted%20image%201776283754692.png