Markets hit record highs

U.S. stocks climbed back to records on April 15, with the S&P 500 closing above its January peak and the Nasdaq setting another high. (cnbc.com) The S&P 500 rose 55.57 points, or 0.8%, to 7,022.95, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 376.93 points, or 1.6%, to 24,016.02. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 72.27 points, or 0.1%, to 48,463.72. (wtop.com) Wednesday’s close put the S&P 500 above its previous record of 7,002.28 set in late January, and marked the Nasdaq’s 11th straight daily gain. CNBC reported the S&P 500 had posted 10 positive sessions in the previous 11 trading days. (bloomberg.com, cnbc.com) The rally followed a sharp reversal from late March, when the S&P 500 had fallen nearly 10% below its record as investors worried the Iran war could hit oil supplies and global growth. By April 15, that two-week rebound had erased those losses. (wtop.com, pbs.org) Investors were buying stocks on signs the fighting might not widen further and on expectations that first-quarter earnings would hold up. Reuters said hopes for de-escalation in the U.S.-Iran conflict and strong earnings expectations pulled money back into riskier assets. (money.usnews.com) Technology shares did much of the lifting, with Microsoft rising 4.6%, Nvidia up 1.3%, Meta Platforms gaining 1.4% and Tesla jumping 7.6% on the day. Finance and technology were among the leading sectors in the S&P 500 advance. (fool.com, bloomberg.com) The move also showed how narrowly split the market remained beneath the headline records. Smaller-company stocks rose less, with the Russell 2000 up 0.3%, and the Dow finished lower even as the broader market and big technology stocks pushed higher. (wtop.com) For the week through April 15, the S&P 500 was up 3%, the Nasdaq had gained 4.9% and the Dow was ahead 1.1%. Wall Street’s record close came after a sell-off tied to war fears only a few weeks earlier. (wtop.com, cnbc.com)