Major Averages Rise on Optimism for U.S.-Iran Peace Deal
The major averages were higher near noon, supported by optimism around a potential U.S.–Iran peace deal. Comments from President Donald Trump suggesting the conflict may be nearing an end have further boosted investor sentiment. Of note, the Lebanese presidency said the country's president Joseph Aoun spoke with Trump, who then stated in a social media post that Lebanon and Israel have agreed to begin a 10-day ceasefire.Meanwhile, investors also have their eyes on a new spate of earnings reports, including new prints from PepsiCo, TSMC, and Travelers along with a report due from Netflix later today.Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.1. STOCK NEWS:PepsiCoreportedand affirmed its FY26 financial outlookTSMCreported better-than-expectedTravelersreportedand raised its quarterly dividendHims & Hersshares were rising after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the FDA isOkloand NuScale Powerwere also higher after the White House released rules for2. WALL STREET CALLS:Oktato Outperform at Raymond JamesQualcommto Neutral at JPMorganFlywireto Buy at BTIGFlutter Entertainmentto Sell from Buy at CitiJetBlue (JBLU)to Buy at Seaport Research3. AROUND THE WEB:Googleis negotiating a deal with the U.S. Department of Defense that would let the Pentagon deploy Gemini AI models in classified settings, reversing its previous stance, The Information saysMore banks are being invited to join Softbank's$40B loan backing its investment in OpenAI, Bloomberg reportsBoeingis hiring 100 to 140 factory workers a week as the company looks to replace retirees and increase staffing to support higher production rates, Reuters saysCaterpillarhas acquired the assets of Monarch Tractor, TechCrunch saysRepsolhas signed an agreement with Venezuela and state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela to regain operational control of the Petroquiriquire asset, aiming to boost production significantly, WSJ reports4. MOVERS:Aehr Test Systemshigher after reportingfrom a hyperscale AI customerNextNavgains after Oppenheimerthe stock to OutperformHarmony Goldincreases in New York after Morgan Stanleythe stock to OverweightQuidelOrtholower afterJinkoSolardeclines in New York after5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:Abbottand cut its guidance for FY26Charles Schwabwith CEO Rick Wurster commenting, "Schwab's strong business momentum continued into 2026"ManpowerGroupwith EPS and revenue beating consensusOnto Innovationfor Q1 and provided guidance for Q2Wipro, with EPS in-line with consensusINDEXES:Near midday, the Dow was up 0.16%, or 79.44, to 48,543.16, the Nasdaq was up 0.34%, or 82.79, to 24,098.81, and the S&P 500 was up 0.26%, or 18.50, to 7,041.45.
