People walk along Wall Street near the New York Stock Exchange.
The New York Stock Exchange opened cautiously higher on Tuesday, with investors holding out hope for a resumption of talks between the United States and Iran. Optimism surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) and a series of well-received corporate results also contribute to boosting morale.
In early trading, the Dow Jones index gained 297.23 points, or 0.60%, to 49,739.79 points, while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 rose by 0.25% to 7,126.79 points.
The Nasdaq Composite increased by 0.29%, or 70.65 points, to 24,475.04 points.
Investors are eager to see if hopes for a lasting détente in the Middle East will materialize, even as the holding of new talks between Washington and Tehran remains uncertain less than 48 hours before the expiration of the two-week ceasefire announced on April 7.
On Tuesday, Donald Trump said he did not want to extend the ceasefire, asserting that Washington was in a strong position in the negotiations and would eventually reach a “very good agreement.”
In addition to geopolitics, the market will closely follow the Senate confirmation hearing of Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Federal Reserve, starting at 2:00 PM GMT. He will speak in the context of inflationary concerns related to the trade war, as the White House has pressured for more aggressive rate cuts to be implemented.
Donald Trump told CNBC on Tuesday that he would be disappointed if his proposed candidate did not immediately lower interest rates upon taking office once confirmed by the Senate.
Corporate earnings and the outlook for the technology sector also support the trend, as first-quarter financial results are expected to ramp up in the coming days.
J.P. Morgan raised its year-end target for the S&P 500, citing AI and the technology sector’s results, while Amazon announced on Monday its intention to invest up to $25 billion in Anthropic, signaling that tech giants are still willing to inject funds into this growing sector.
Amazon’s stock rose by 1.7% in early trading.
Apple declined by 0.81% the day after announcing John Ternus as the new general manager, as the iPhone manufacturer prepares for an industry transformation led by AI amid increasing competition from rivals like Nvidia and Alphabet.
Health conglomerate UnitedHealth soared by over 8% on Tuesday after raising its annual profit forecast and surpassing Wall Street’s expectations.
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(Reporting by Diana Mandi; Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten)
