US stocks today: US stocks end higher as Middle East peace talks lift sentiment

U.S. stocks advanced on Thursday, as ongoing negotiations toward a peaceful resolution to the six-week Middle East conflict helped ease worries over the fragile U.S.-Iran truce. All three major U.S. stock indexes gained ground after rebounding ‌from an earlier ⁠dip as ⁠Israel sought talks with Lebanon.

"There's an increasing recognition that this administration is more bark than bite, and willing to make grand ​statements about world destruction," said Oliver Pursche, senior vice president at Wealthspire Advisors, in New York. "From an investor's perspective, you ​have to decide whether to ignore it all or just cash in and sit it out the next two years."

In two sessions, the S&P 500 has moved back above its 100-day and 200-day ​moving averages, two key technical levels.


Crude prices seesawed throughout the ⁠session as markets ‌waited for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of ​the world's ​oil is shipped. Front-month WTI futures settled up 3.66%, but remained below $100 per ⁠barrel.

The CBOE Market Volatility Index, called the "fear index," dipped to its ​lowest point since the onset of the war. The Commerce Department issued ​its GDP and PCE reports, which showed the economy grew at a slower-than-expected pace in the fourth quarter, while consumer prices remain elevated.

Minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's most recent monetary meeting showed policymakers are increasingly eyeing potential interest rate hikes to counter the inflationary impact of a prolonged Iran war.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 41.13 points, or 0.61%, to end at 6,823.94 points, ‌while the Nasdaq Composite gained 187.42 points, or 0.81%, to 22,819.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 273.73 points, or 0.57%, to 48,183.65. Consumer discretionary stocks got a boost ​after Amazon.com's CEO Andy ​Jassy said artificial intelligence ⁠services at its cloud-computing unit are generating annualized revenue of more than $15 billion. Amazon's shares closed sharply higher.

"There's a lot of people out there that are questioning the potential positive impact of AI and I ​think Amazon has shown that that positive return can happen a lot more quickly than most expected," Pursche added.

Software stocks were clear underperformers on the day, while retail and chips outperformed. Constellation Brands jumped after the company posted a smaller-than-expected drop in fourth-quarter sales. Applied Digital shares dropped after the data center operator's third-quarter net loss widened from a year earlier.