U.S. stocks climbed to more records on Friday as investors focused on strong earnings—most notably a surge for Intel—while energy prices continued to swing on uncertainty related to the Iran war. The session reflected a split between upbeat signals from company reports and cautious positioning around geopolitical risk, with oil prices reacting to developments in ceasefire talks even as shipping frictions persisted.
Intel stood out as the day’s biggest driver, jumping 23.6% to mark its best day since 1987 after reporting results for the first three months of the year that came in much stronger than analysts expected. In remarks tied to the company’s outlook, Intel Chief Executive Lip-Bu Tan said the next wave of artificial-intelligence technology is increasing the need for Intel’s chips and products, and the company’s forecast for profit in the spring topped analysts’ estimates, according to the AP report.
The broader market climbed accordingly. The S&P 500 advanced 0.8% and topped its prior all-time high set Wednesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 79.61 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite rallied 398.09 points, or 1.6%, to reach its record close. The AP story also said the S&P 500 has surged nearly 13% in a little under a month as multiple strong profit reports have helped Wall Street rally to records.
Energy markets, however, stayed tied to the ceasefire’s uncertainty. The AP described a ceasefire as tenuously in place between the United States and Iran, but it said tensions were still preventing oil tankers from passing through the Strait of Hormuz to deliver crude from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide. Oil prices climbed earlier in the week on worries about the strait, and the AP said an encouraging signal arrived Friday when Iran’s top diplomat said he was heading to Pakistan, where officials have been trying to get the United States and Iran to convene for a second round of ceasefire negotiations.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later told Fox News Channel in an interview that President Donald Trump is sending envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan to meet with Iran’s foreign minister. Despite that, the AP reported that Brent futures continued to yo-yo: the price for a June-delivery barrel of Brent settled at $105.33, up 0.2%, while the July-delivery contract fell 0.2% to $99.13.
Corporate earnings also shaped the trading. Procter & Gamble rose 2.5% after reporting stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, with CEO Shailesh Jejurikar saying it saw broad-based growth across regions and products. The AP said Charter Communications dropped 25.5% after reporting quarterly profit that came in weaker than analysts expected and losing 120,000 internet customers during the three months, a bigger decline than some analysts had forecast.
In the bond market, the AP said Treasury yields eased as traders increased bets that the Federal Reserve could resume its cuts to interest rates later this year. The report said the path appeared to clear for Trump’s nominee to chair the Fed, Kevin Warsh, after the U.S. Justice Department ended its probe into the Fed’s current chair, Jerome Powell, and noted that Sen. Thom Tillis said he would oppose Warsh until the investigation was resolved, effectively blocking confirmation for now.
The AP reported that the yield on the 10-year Treasury dipped to 4.30% from 4.34% late Thursday. It also said a University of Michigan survey found consumer sentiment remained sour in April across political party, income, age and education, though it improved somewhat after the ceasefire in the war with Iran was announced earlier in the month.
Outside the U.S., the AP said European and Asian indexes were mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1%, while France’s CAC 40 fell 0.8% for two of the world’s bigger moves.