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Futures linked to the S&P 500 edged higher early Thursday after the index touched new highs, buoyed by hopes that the U.S. and Iran were closing in on an agreement to end the war.
S&P 500 futures moved 0.16% higher and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.19%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 120 points, or 0.24%.
Shares of DoorDash popped 10% in Wednesday's extended trading session after the food delivery giant issued rosy guidance for orders in its second quarter. Meanwhile, cybersecurity stock Fortinet climbed 16% after lifting its full-year billings guidance.
During the day's regular session, the broad S&P 500 climbed 1.46%, while the tech-dominated Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.02%. Both indexes reached new intraday and closing highs. The Dow surged 612.34 points, or 1.24%.
Stocks moved higher and oil prices cooled after Axios reported, citing sources, that the U.S. and Iran are nearing a deal to end the war. Specifically, two U.S. officials and two other sources briefed on the issue told the outlet that the White House believes it is nearing a one-page, 14-point memorandum of understanding to not only end the war, but also establish a framework for more detailed nuclear talks.
Stocks came off their highs after President Donald Trump said that a deal was not finalized, saying that it was "perhaps, a big assumption" that Iran would accept the proposal. The president threatened to resume military strikes if it did not comply.
"If they don't agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before," the president wrote in a Truth Social post.
An Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said to CNBC on Wednesday that Iran was evaluating a U.S. proposal for a resolution.
Outside of these hopes for easing Middle East tensions, a strong earnings season has also boosted stocks. Samantha McLemore, Patient Capital Management founder, expects the rally to keep ripping higher from here.
"It's a secular bull market," she said on CNBC's "Closing Bell" on Wednesday afternoon. "People have been talking about this — are we in a bubble, has it gone too far — for over a year now, so I think that's kept a lid on valuations, and we've mostly just seen the moves track the earnings."
McDonald's, Shake Shack, Shell, Planet Fitness, Tapestry, Datadog, Peloton Interactive, Tripadvisor, Papa John's, Unity Software and Valvoline are set to report earnings before Thursday's opening bell. Traders will also watch out for the latest readings on construction spending, consumer credit, jobless claims for the week ending May 2 and first-quarter preliminary unit labor costs and productivity indexes.
Japan stocks rose more than 5% on Thursday, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 hitting 62,000 for the first time as Asia-Pacific markets rallied despite renewed tensions in the Middle East.
The Nikkei 225 advanced over 5% to end the trading day at 62,833.84, led by gains in basic materials, technology and financial stocks. Shares of index heavyweight Softbank surged more than 18%.
Electronics company Ibiden was the top performer, climbing over 22%. Semiconductor company Sumco Corp surged 19.74%, while manufacturing and metals company Mitsui Kinzoku gained 19%.
The Topix also advanced 3% to close at 3,840.49. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.96% to 8,878.1.
South Korea's Kospi jumped 1.43% to 7,490.05 while the small-cap Kosdaq Index slid 0.91% to 1,199.18. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 1.57% while mainland China's CSI 300 edged 0.48% higher to 4,900.51.
The broader regional advance came after President Donald Trump warned Iran would be bombed "at a much higher level" if it failed to agree to a peace deal.
The Nikkei 225 advanced 5%, led by gains in basic materials, technology and financial stocks. Shares of index heavyweight Softbank surged more than 13%.
The Topix also advanced 2.37%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.9%.
South Korea's Kospi reversed gains, falling 0.68%, while the small-cap Kosdaq Index slid 0.56%. Hong Kong Hang Seng index jumped 1.47% while mainland China's CSI 300 edged 0.38% higher.
On Wednesday, nine of the 11 GICS sectors ended the day higher than where they began.
Gains were led by the industrials sector, which added 2.60%. Both the information technology and communication services sectors also gained more than 2%.
On the other hand, the only two sectors to fall in Wednesday were energy and utilities. The groups respectively lost 4.07% and 1.45%.
These are the stocks moving the most in extended-hours trading:
Read the full list of stocks moving here.
Stock futures tied to all three major averages were trading near flat shortly after 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday night.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 slipped 0.1%, while those tied to the Nasdaq 100 shed 0.1%. Dow futures were trading marginally lower.