00:00U.S. stock indexes closed higher on Thursday with a strong boost from semiconductor shares
00:05and easing inflation fears, although investors still priced in interest rate highs this year
00:10from the Federal Reserve. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index sharply outperformed
00:14the rest of the market as Intel's shares jumped to a record high. U.S. President Donald Trump
00:20said iPhone maker Apple had agreed to work with Intel to design and manufacture its chips in the
00:26U.S. Early in the session, all prices lead to their lowest level since early March after the U.S.
00:34and
00:34Iran signed an interim agreement that extends the April ceasefire by another 60 days to allow the
00:40site's time to reach a final deal. Although Trump threatened to resume attacks if Iran failed to
00:46honour its commitments, the first ship started sailing through the Strait of Hormuz where
00:50transportation of oil, gas, fertiliser and other cargos had been disrupted since the start of the
00:56war. According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 78.31 points or 1.06% to end at
01:047,498.41
01:06points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 496.28 points or 1.87% to 26,507.05. The Dow Jones
01:17Industrial
01:17average rose 70.29 points or 0.14% to 51,562.84. All three of Wall Street's major indexes
01:27stumbled in
01:28the previous session as investors prized in the likelihood of Fed rate hikes after the central
01:33bank's new chair Kevin Walsh underscored the need to curb inflation and other policymakers signal higher
01:39borrowing costs ahead. Traders were betting on a roughly 50% chance of 25 basis point rate hike
01:45as soon as September and a roughly 20% probability for a 50 basis point hike, according to CME Group's
01:52FedWatch tool. Investors are getting a nice post-Kevin Walsh debut rebound. Things got a little grim
01:59during the press conference for the equity space and now investors are getting the natural bounce
02:04back from that. Not a lot happening in fundamentals to much worry about. Few stocks have had some nice
02:10outsized losses because of limited expectation, but that's become par for the course in this market.
02:16On the data front, Labor Department data showed the number of Americans filing claims for
02:20unemployment benefits fell last week as layoffs remain low. In individual stocks, shares of Accenture
02:27tumbled after the company trimmed the top end of its annual revenue forecast. Peers including
02:32Carnison Technology Solutions, Gartner and IBM fell in sympathy.
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