-- US benchmark equity indexes were higher intraday, while oil prices tumbled as investors reacted to reports saying that Washington and Tehran are nearing a potential agreement to end the war.
The Nasdaq Composite was up 1.6% at 25,726 after midday Wednesday, while the S&P 500 advanced 1.1% to 7,339.3. Both indexes were on track for back-to-back record-high closings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1% to 49,792.1.
Among sectors, industrials was outperforming with a 2.2% gain, while energy saw the steepest drop of 4.1%.
West Texas Intermediate crude was down 6.6% at $95.57 per barrel, while Brent slumped 7% to $102.20.
The US is nearing a deal with Iran on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end their conflict in the Middle East and establish a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations, Axios reported Wednesday, citing two US officials and two other sources familiar with the matter.
The two countries are moving closer to an agreement on a short memorandum to end the war, CNN also reported, citing a regional source familiar with the negotiations.
"Traders in the US woke up to see some real excitement in the markets today caused by the (Axios) news," Macquarie said in a note. "The good news, for now, is that the same sources that leaked the existence of a deal to Axios said this was the closest the parties had been to an agreement since the war began."
US President Donald Trump issued a fresh warning to Iran, saying the "bombing starts" again if a deal is not reached.
"Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end, and the highly effective blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be open to all, including Iran," Trump said in a social media post.
Iran said it is still reviewing the latest US proposal, according to news reports.
US Treasury yields were lower intraday, with the 10-year rate down 7.4 basis points at 4.36% and the two-year rate falling 7.2 basis points to 3.88%.
In company news, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) shares surged nearly 17%, among the best performers on the S&P 500. Late Tuesday, the chipmaker reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter results as demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure pushed data center revenue higher year over year.
Walt Disney's (DIS) fiscal second-quarter results came in ahead of market estimates Wednesday amid revenue gains across all business operations, while the media and entertainment giant reiterated its expectations for growth to accelerate in the second half. Disney's shares climbed 6.5%, the top performer on the Dow.
Nvidia (NVDA) followed Disney on the Dow, up 4.5%. Specialty glass maker Corning (GLW) will boost its optical connectivity manufacturing capacity under a multiyear partnership with chipmaking giant to support AI factory buildouts. Corning shares jumped 14%.
Arista Networks (ANET) shares tumbled 16%, among the worst S&P 500 performers. Late Tuesday, the cloud networking company issued a second-quarter revenue outlook slightly below market estimates.
Arm (ARM), Applovin (APP), DoorDash (DASH) and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) are expected to report after the closing bell Wednesday, along with others.
In economic news, employment in the US private sector grew at its fastest pace in more than a year in April, ADP (ADP) data showed.
"The uptick in private payroll gains from the ADP employment report not only suggests a stable labor market, but one that was potentially warming despite the outbreak of the war in Iran," Oxford Economics said in a note. "If this signal is echoed in the official measure on Friday, the unemployment rate is likely to fall given the low break-even rate, which we estimate is near zero."
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics are expected to show Friday that the US economy added 65,000 nonfarm jobs last month, which would represent a fall from a 178,000 increase reported for March, according to a Bloomberg-compiled survey. The unemployment rate is seen unchanged at 4.3%.
Gold rose 2.8% to $4,695.90 per troy ounce, while silver climbed 5.3% to $77.48 per ounce.