The S&P 500 hit a new all-time intraday high on Thursday as oil prices fell for another day, buoyed by hopes that the U.S. and Iran were closing in on an agreement to end the war.
The broad market index was last up 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.4%. The tech-heavy index also scored a fresh all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 74 points, or 0.1%.
Oil prices were trading below $100 on Thursday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped 4% to above $91 per barrel. International Brent crude futures slipped 3% to above $97 a barrel.
Along with declining oil prices, more strong quarterly results helped sentiment as well. Shares of DoorDash popped 8% after the food delivery giant issued rosy guidance for orders in its second quarter. Meanwhile, Fortinet climbed 19% after lifting its full-year billings guidance.
Stocks posted strong gains in the previous session, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posting record highs. The Dow also popped more than 600 points.
On Wednesday, stocks moved higher and oil prices cooled after Axios reported, citing sources, that the U.S. and Iran are nearing a deal to end the war. Specifically, two U.S. officials and two other sources briefed on the issue told the outlet that the White House believes it is nearing a one-page, 14-point memorandum of understanding to not only end the war, but also establish a framework for more detailed nuclear talks.
An Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said to CNBC on Wednesday that Iran was evaluating a U.S. proposal for a resolution.
Outside of these hopes for easing Middle East tensions, a strong earnings season has also boosted stocks. Samantha McLemore, Patient Capital Management founder, expects the rally to keep ripping higher from here.
“It’s a secular bull market,” she said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Wednesday afternoon. “People have been talking about this — are we in a bubble, has it gone too far — for over a year now, so I think that’s kept a lid on valuations, and we’ve mostly just seen the moves track the earnings.”
Paul Tudor Jones says AI bull market has ‘another year or two to run’
Paul Tudor Jones said the artificial intelligence-fueled bull market still has “another year or two” to run as he looked for parallels to earlier tech booms.
The billionaire hedge fund manager said recent advances in AI resemble the emergence of transformative technologies such as Microsoft’s early software dominance in the 1980s and the commercialization of the internet in the mid-1990s, periods that ushered in years of productivity gains and market upside.
While AI development is in early stages, Jones said in terms of the bull market, this continues to feel like the 1999 period, about a year before dot-com share prices peaked in early 2000. When it does end, Jones said the market drawdown could be significant.
“Just imagine the stock market went up another 40%. The stock market GDP is gonna probably be good lord 300%, 350%. You just know that there’ll be some … breathtaking kind of corrections,” he said.
— Yun Li
Stocks open higher
The three leading U.S. indexes started Thursday’s regular trading session off in the green.
The S&P 500 added 0.1%, along with the Nasdaq Composite. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 174 points, or 0.4%.
— Sean Conlon
Jobless claims rise, productivity misses forecast
Initial jobless claims rose less than expected last week while productivity and unit labor costs came in beneath estimates, according to economic data released Thursday:
- New unemployment benefit filings totaled a seasonally adjusted 200,000 for the week ended May 2, up 10,000 from the prior week’s revised level but below the 206,000 consensus estimate from Dow Jones. Continuing claims, which run a week behind, fell 10,000 to 1.77 million.
- Productivity rose 0.8% in the first quarter, less than the 1.1% estimate, bringing the 12-month pace to 2.9%. Unit labor costs, which measure hourly compensation less productivity, increased 2.3%, less than the 1.6% estimate.
— Jeff Cox
Peloton shares jump nearly 4% after earnings
Peloton posted fiscal third-quarter earnings results Thursday that beat Wall Street expectations on revenue but fell slightly short on earnings per share.
The company touted better-than-expected equipment sales and subscription revenue as helping to drive its sales and profitability, with free cash flow up nearly 60%.
“The first order of business in earnings is reporting how you did financially, and we feel like that was a pretty good quarter in terms of where we are strategically,” CEO Peter Stern told CNBC.
Read the full story here.
— Laya Neelakandan
Shake Shack, McDonald’s, Whirlpool among the stocks making moves before the bell
Check out the companies making the biggest moves in premarket trading:
- Shake Shack — Shares tumbled 17% after the burger chain’s first-quarter results fell short of expectations and it reported an operating loss of $2.6 million. Shake Shack’s earnings per share broke even, versus earnings of 12 cents a share expected from analysts polled by LSEG. Revenue came in at $366.7 million, versus the $372 million consensus estimate.
- McDonald’s — The fast-food chain posted a beat on both the top and bottom line, sending shares nearly 3.2% higher. Adjusted earnings came in at $2.83 per share, versus the $2.74 a share expected from analysts polled by LSEG. Revenue was $6.52 billion, compared to the $6.47 billion consensus estimate.
- Whirlpool — The manufacturer of household appliances lost 18% after it slashed guidance for the full year. Whirlpool now sees adjusted earnings ranging from $3 to $3.50 per share on revenue of roughly $15 billion. Previously, the company guided for $6 per share and $15.3 billion to $15.6 billion. The company also said in a regulatory filing that “War in Iran resulted in recession-level industry decline in the U.S. as consumer confidence collapsed in late February and March.”
Read the full list here.
— Michelle Fox
Layoffs rose 38% in April, with AI the leading cause, Challenger says
Layoff announcements rose in April, spurred by a artificial intelligence-related cuts, Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported Thursday.
Job cuts totaled 83,387 for the month, a monthly increase of 38% though down 21% from the same month a year ago. Planned layoffs are down 50% year to date from the same period in 2025.
Of those reductions, 33,361 came from technology. AI accounted for 26% of the total cuts, making it the second month in a row as the leader.
Hiring plans totaled 10,049, down 69% from March and 38% from April 2025.
— Jeff Cox
McDonald’s rises on earnings beat
McDonald’s shares were up 3% after the fast food giant posted Q1 results that beat the Street. The company earned an adjusted $2.83 per share on revenue of $6.52 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG expected McDonald’s to report earnings of $2.74 per share on revenue of $6.47 billion.
Read more here.
— Fred Imbert
Asia markets close higher as Japan’s Nikkei blows past 62,000 for the first time
Japan stocks rose more than 5% on Thursday, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 hitting 62,000 for the first time as Asia-Pacific markets rallied despite renewed tensions in the Middle East.
The Nikkei 225 advanced over 5% to end the trading day at 62,833.84, led by gains in basic materials, technology and financial stocks. Shares of index heavyweight Softbank surged more than 18%.
Electronics company Ibiden was the top performer, climbing over 22%. Semiconductor company Sumco Corp surged 19.74%, while manufacturing and metals company Mitsui Kinzoku gained 19%.
The Topix also advanced 3% to close at 3,840.49. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.96% to 8,878.1.
South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.43% to 7,490.05 while the small-cap Kosdaq Index slid 0.91% to 1,199.18. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 1.57% while mainland China’s CSI 300 edged 0.48% higher to 4,900.51.
— Lee Ying Shan
Japan’s Nikkei 225 tops 62,000 for the first time as Asia markets look past Trump’s Iran threats
Japan stocks rose more than 5% on Thursday, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 hitting 62,000 for the first time as Asia-Pacific markets rallied despite renewed tensions in the Middle East.
The broader regional advance came after President Donald Trump warned Iran would be bombed “at a much higher level” if it failed to agree to a peace deal.
The Nikkei 225 advanced 5%, led by gains in basic materials, technology and financial stocks. Shares of index heavyweight Softbank surged more than 13%.
The Topix also advanced 2.37%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.9%.
South Korea’s Kospi reversed gains, falling 0.68%, while the small-cap Kosdaq Index slid 0.56%. Hong Kong Hang Seng index jumped 1.47% while mainland China’s CSI 300 edged 0.38% higher.
— Lee Ying Shan
Nine of the 11 GICS sectors end Wednesday higher
On Wednesday, nine of the 11 GICS sectors ended the day higher than where they began.
Gains were led by the industrials sector, which added 2.60%. Both the information technology and communication services sectors also gained more than 2%.
On the other hand, the only two sectors to fall in Wednesday were energy and utilities. The groups respectively lost 4.07% and 1.45%.
— Lisa Kailai Han
Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: DoorDash, Zillow Group and more
These are the stocks moving the most in extended-hours trading:
- DoorDash — Shares popped 12% after the food delivery giant issued rosy guidance for orders in the second quarter.
- Zillow Group — The real estate marketplace fell 6% after posting first-quarter residential revenue of $450 million, below StreetAccount’s $454.2 million estimate.
- Arm Holdings — The semiconductor company reversed earlier gains and tumbled 7% on underwhelming guidance. Arm also said that its mobile market unit growth will be flat or slightly negative in fiscal year 2027.
Read the full list of stocks moving here.
— Lisa Kailai Han
