00:00The benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose modestly to record-closing highs
00:05for a second straight day on Thursday, April 16th, on optimism that the worst of the Middle
00:10East conflict had passed after Israel agreed to a temporary ceasefire with Lebanon and
00:16U.S. President Donald Trump indicated the U.S. and Iran could meet again on the weekend.
00:21Trading was choppy, however, after Trump announced the 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon
00:26and told reporters Iran had offered not to have nuclear weapons for more than 20 years.
00:32Earlier in the day, Bloomberg cited Gulf and European officials saying the U.S. needs about
00:37six months to reach an Iran deal. While hopes of diplomatic progress have lifted sentiment this
00:43week, some strategists have said that clearer signals of peace may be needed to sustain momentum.
00:49New applications for U.S. unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, suggesting
00:55labor market conditions remain stable, though employers are cautious about increasing headcount
01:00as war with Iran weighs on the economy.
01:03Yeah, today in terms of what's going on in the market, it's hard to discern. I think what
01:08we can conclude is it's still volatile for obvious reasons. There's just a lack of visibility about
01:13what's happening in the Middle East and what that impact could be in terms of energy and other
01:18input costs across the economy. According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 16.63 points
01:25or 0.24 percent to end at 7,040.9 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 80.98 points or
01:340.34 percent
01:35to 24,097 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 101.37 points or 0.21 percent to 38,565
01:46.09 points.
01:48The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 touched intraday records. The Nasdaq's gain represented its 12th consecutive
01:54advance, its longest winning streak since July 2009.
