-- US benchmark equity indexes were mostly higher intraday as President Donald Trump reportedly said the Iran was likely "very close to over."
The Nasdaq Composite was up 1% at 23,873.7 after midday Wednesday, while the S&P 500 rose 0.4% to 6,998.1. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% to 48,376.9. Among sectors, consumer discretionary and technology paced the gainers, while industrials saw the steepest drop.
Microsoft (MSFT) shares were up 4.4%, the top gainer on the Dow, with fellow tech majors Salesforce (CRM), Apple (AAPL), and IBM (IBM) among the best performers on the index.
Trump said he sees the US-Israel war with Iran "as very close to over," news outlets reported, citing an interview on Fox Business Network conducted Tuesday and broadcast Wednesday. "We'll see what happens," Trump reportedly said. "I think they want to make a deal very badly."
The army chief of mediator Pakistan arrived in Iran to try to prevent a renewal of the conflict, media outlets reported Wednesday.
"Markets have grown more confident that the Middle East crisis is moving toward a resolution, with the US and Iran arranging a second round of talks, and Tehran seemingly willing to halt shipments to avoid testing the US naval blockade," ING Bank said in a report.
Iran's military has threatened to shut down shipping operations in the Red Sea, as well as the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman if a US blockade of its ports continues, CNN reported.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 0.7% at $91.87 a barrel intraday, while Brent gained 0.6% to $95.40.
In economic news, US homebuilder confidence sank this month to the lowest since September amid economic uncertainty, as well as increasing building material costs and interest rates, the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo said.
"Builder sentiment has fallen back in spring as buyers face ongoing elevated interest rates and growing economic uncertainty," NAHB Chairman Bill Owens said. "The year started with hopes for housing momentum growth, but risks with respect to the Iran war, energy costs, and declines for consumer confidence have slowed the market."
US Treasury yields were higher intraday, with the 10-year rate up 3.2 basis points at 4.29% and the two-year rate rising 2.1 basis points to 3.78%.
In company news, Morgan Stanley (MS) and Bank of America's (BAC) first-quarter results topped Wall Street's estimates. Morgan Stanley's shares were up 4.6%, while Bank of America rose 2.2%.
Snap (SNAP) shares jumped 7.6%. The social media company plans to lay off about 1,000 employees, or roughly 16% of its full-time workforce, as part of Chief Executive Evan Spiegel's efforts to reduce costs.
Gold was down 0.7% at $4,815.30 per troy ounce, while silver fell 0.4% to $79.18 per ounce.