The S&P 500 is less than 1% away from a record. Nasdaq 100 has its best growth streak since 2021

Traders remained optimistic about the peace process between the US and Iran and continued to buy technology stocks - as the least exposed to risks from the war in the Middle East. Brent crude oil prices fell at the strongest pace in a week. The S&P 500 broad market index is less than 1% away from a new record: the index recouped the losses incurred during more than a month of war a day earlier.

- The broad market index S&P 500 rose by 1.18% on April 14 and ended trading at 6967.38 points. The index is less than one percent away from a new record, Bloomberg notes

- The blue-chip index Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.66% on Tuesday to close at 48,535.99 points.

- The Nasdaq Composite Technology Sector Index rose nearly 2% to 23,639 points. The narrower Nasdaq 100 index rose almost 1%, increasing at the end of trading for the tenth consecutive session. This is the longest series of its growth since 2021, notes Bloomberg.

- The Russell 2000 index of small and mid-capitalization companies added 1.3% to 2705.7 points.

- Brent crude oil futures fell by 4.2% to $95.2 per barrel. Moreover, during the trades, quotes fell below $95 per barrel. The cost of U.S. WTI decreased by 7% - to $92.2 per barrel.

- Gold rose more than 2% to $4841, while bitcoin rose 1.1% overnight to $74,250.

Stocks rose Tuesday, pushing the S&P 500 close to a new record, thanks to investor hopes for continued U.S. talks with Iran after they collapsed over the weekend, Bloomberg writes.

According to Bloomberg's source, Iran is considering a short-term pause in shipments of its goods through the Strait of Hormuz to avoid testing the strength of the U.S. blockade and disrupting a new round of peace talks. The potential pause reflects a desire to avoid an immediate escalation while the sides agree on organizational details for another meeting, the source said.

Brent crude oil fell 4% despite the International Energy Agency warning that war will curtail growth in global oil demand for the first time since the 2020 pandemic. The cost of crude on Tuesday showed the strongest decline in a week, with May contracts for WTI (settlement price) falling 7.9% and Brent down 4.6%, MarketWatch cited FactSet and Dow Jones Market Data.

Traders on Tuesday also focused on the financial sector's first-quarter earnings report, Bloomberg writes. JPMorgan Chase shares fell 0.8% despite record quarterly trading revenue. Wells Fargo shares fell 5.7%. In contrast, Citigroup shares rose 3.3% after the bank reported its highest quarterly trading revenue in five years.

For the second day in a row, the market was supported by the growth of technology shares, writes CNBC. In particular, Oracle securities rose by 4.7%, continuing the rally that began the day before. Shares of Nvidia and Palantir Technologies also continued to grow, adding 3.8% and 2.5% on Tuesday, respectively.

U.S. wholesale prices rose weaker than expected in March despite a jump in energy prices linked to the war in Iran, data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released Tuesday showed. The producer price index rose 0.5%, while the core index, which excludes food and energy, added just 0.1%. Economists had expected PPI to rise 1.1% from the previous month. The data followed last week's statistics showing that U.S. consumer prices rose sharply in March due to soaring gasoline prices, although core inflation was below forecasts.

- "I don't want to rule out that there could be a new escalation and that the market could go down further, but I think that's unlikely. I think the market is already laying down a certain level of anxiety about Iran," Baird investment strategist Ross Mayfield told CNBC. - "It looks like we're back near all-time highs, but with a much healthier positioning and a more favorable backdrop, with the reporting season ahead, which could also support bullish sentiment." Mayfield believes that the U.S. conflict with Iran will not drag on into the second half of the year.

- "Equities in the near term could still continue their gradual rise if the truce holds and earnings reports surprise, but this window of opportunity looks inherently unsustainable," Bloomberg quoted Barclays equity derivatives strategists, led by Stefano Pascale, as saying in a note.

- "Companies continue to show impressive resilience in the face of supply chain issues, duties and now the challenges of rising energy prices," Scott Helfstein, head of investment strategy for Global X ETFs, told Bloomberg. - That should be an encouraging signal for investors."

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor