Wall St jumps on Mideast de-escalation hopes; earnings in focus

Wall Street’s main indexes advanced on Tuesday after reports of fresh efforts to ease the Middle East conflict boosted sentiment, while traders also assessed earnings from big banks and corporates.

Delegations from the U.S. and Iran could resume talks in Pakistan to end the war this week, sources told Reuters. U.S. President Donald Trump also said that Iran wanted to make a deal.

The market has been sensitive to developments in the region, with even tentative signs of an off-ramp sufficient to encourage investors eager for positive news.

At 09:41 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 227.05 points, or 0.47%, to 48,445.30, the S&P 500 gained 32.09 points, or 0.47%, to 6,918.33 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 194.70 points, or 0.84%, to 23,378.44.

“Investors seem to be buying into the notion that it may take a while, but there is an off-ramp in the future to this war,” said Art Hogan, chief ​market strategist at B Riley Wealth.

The S&P 500 was on track to recoup all its losses since the start of the war, while the Nasdaq 100 was set for a 10-day winning streak, its longest since 2021.

Commentary from several Federal Reserve policymakers will be closely watched through the day for insight into how the central bank is assessing the impact of the U.S.-Iran war.

The International Monetary Fund cut its economic growth outlook on Tuesday.

Focus on earnings for direction

A busy slate of quarterly earnings is also expected to guide the market.

“The earnings season will help investors shift their focus from the macro to the micro,” Hogan said.

BlackRock gained 4.2% after the asset manager reported a rise in first-quarter profit, helped by strong inflows into its exchange-traded funds and a sharp increase in performance fees.

JPMorgan edged up 0.1% following its first-quarter results, while Wells Fargo declined 5% after interest income fell short of market expectations in the first quarter.

Citigroup rose 1.9% to a near two-decade high after beating estimates for first-quarter profit, while Johnson & Johnson was flat after reporting earnings.

The benchmark’s financial sector edged 0.3% higher, and the consumer discretionary sector rose 1.8%, leading gains.

Information technology stocks were the biggest boost on all three indexes.

Among other stock movers, United Airlines and American Airlines rose 1% and 7%, respectively.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby pitched a potential merger with American Airlines to Trump in late February, two sources said, raising the prospect of an industry-reshaping deal.

Shares of Globalstar jumped 9% after Amazon.com agreed to an $11.57 billion deal to buy the satellite company.

Tuesday data showed that U.S. producer prices increased less than expected in March, as the cost of services was unchanged.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.94-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 2.32-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 18 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 77 new highs and 12 new lows.