Nasdaq, S&P 500 Extend Winning Streak as Truce Remains Intact
The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 posted their seventh straight day of gains as a two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran appeared to remain on track.The Nasdaq closed 0.8% higher at 22,822.4, its highest close since Feb. 26 -- two days before the US-Israel war with Iran started. The S&P 500 climbed 0.6% to 6,824.7.The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.6% to settle at 48,185.8, advancing for a second consecutive session.Barring energy and health care, all sectors were in the green, led by consumer discretionary's 2.5% rise.Officials from Washington and Tehran are expected to meet this weekend in Pakistan, which helped broker the truce.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country would negotiate with Lebanon on disarming Hezbollah, CNN reported Thursday. Iranian state media previously reported that transit through the Strait of Hormuz was halted following Israeli attacks on Lebanon.Oil prices jumped, with West Texas Intermediate crude last up 4.9% at $99.06 per barrel. The benchmark hit up to $102.70 per barrel earlier in the session as shipment activity through the Strait of Hormuz remained restricted. Brent crude climbed 2.4% to $96.99 per barrel.The rebound in oil prices follows the sharpest one-day pullback since 2020 in the previous session following the ceasefire announcement."With a full reopening of the strait unlikely in the near term, oil prices are expected to remain supported, as disruptions linked to reduced output and refinery shutdowns will take time to unwind," ING Bank said in a note.US Treasury yields were declining, with the 10-year rate down 1.5 basis points at 4.29% and the two-year rate falling 2.1 basis points at 3.77%.In economic news, US inflation accelerated sequentially in February as real consumer spending edged higher, with analysts expecting price pressures to intensify due to the spillover effects of the Middle East conflict.The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation metric -- which excludes food and energy -- rose 0.4% month over month, unchanged from January's reading. Annual growth slowed to 3% from 3.1%. All inflation prints met estimates in Bloomberg-compiled surveys."With headline inflation likely to test 4% soon, there is little chance the Fed will ease policy in the near term," BMO Capital Markets said in a note.The US economy expanded at a slower rate in the fourth quarter than previously projected, as consumer spending growth decelerated, the Bureau of Economic Analysis' third estimate showed Thursday."The downward revision to (fourth-quarter) GDP is not a major concern, as it was driven by the volatile inventory component," Oxford Economics Chief US Economist Michael Pearce said in remarks e-mailed to. "Gross domestic income -- a better gauge of underlying activity -- and gross domestic output of private business showed the core of the economy was still expanding at a healthy pace at the end of last year."In company news, CoreWeave (CRWV) agreed to supply artificial intelligence cloud capacity to Meta Platforms (META) in a $21 billion deal as the companies expanded their partnership amid robust demand for infrastructure supporting AI workloads. CoreWeave shares rose 3.5%, while Meta gained 2.6%.Ares Management (ARES) agreed to acquire and take private Whitestone REIT (WSR) in an all-cash deal worth about $1.7 billion. Whitestone shares jumped nearly 12%, while Ares was virtually flat.Brown-Forman (BF.A, BF.B) was approached by Sazerac about a potential transaction amid ongoing discussions with French spirits company Pernod Ricard, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. The company's class B shares surged nearly 13%, the top gainer on the S&P 500, while its A shares soared 11%.Chevron (CVX) said it expected higher commodity prices driven by the Middle East conflict to boost first-quarter earnings in its upstream segment by up to $2.2 billion, though timing impacts could weigh on the oil giant's bottom line. The company's shares fell 1.3%, among the worst performers on the Dow.Gold was last up 0.4% at $4,795.80 per troy ounce, while silver advanced 0.6% to $76.84 per ounce.
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