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Update: Equities Rise, Oil Little Changed as Focus Shifts to Further US-Iran Talks

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Update: Equities Rise, Oil Little Changed as Focus Shifts to Further US-Iran Talks

(Updates with market moves at the end of the day.)

US benchmark equity indexes closed higher Thursday and oil prices were little changed as markets evaluated the prospects of further talks between Washington and Iran following a preliminary agreement to end the Middle East conflict.

The Nasdaq Composite added 1.9% to 26,517.9. The S&P 500 rose 1.1% to 7,500.6, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.1% higher at 51,564.7.

Among sectors, technology led the gainers, while energy saw the biggest drop.

US markets will be closed Friday for the Juneteenth National Independence Day holiday.

The US and Iran have signed a memorandum of understanding to end their war and reopen the critical Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping. Both parties have at least 60 days to hammer out a final deal.

But some analysts have flagged the possibility of implementation risks and potential disagreements.

As part of the preliminary deal, the US and regional partners will develop a plan providing at least $300 billion in economic development financing for Tehran. Iran agreed that it will not procure or develop nuclear weapons.

In addition, the MOU declares an "immediate and permanent" end of all military operations, including in Lebanon.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was little changed at $76.81 a barrel in Thursday late-afternoon trade, while Brent was up 0.1% to $79.63.

The Federal Reserve is unlikely to raise interest rates anytime soon, if at all, despite the removal of the so-called easing bias from its monetary policy statement, Stifel said Thursday.

The US central bank held its key interest rate steady on Wednesday for the fourth straight time, while upgrading inflation and interest rate expectations.

New Fed Chair Kevin Warsh announced a series of taskforces to review areas including communication, data sources and inflation frameworks.

US Treasury yields were mixed in late-afternoon trade, with the two-year rate last seen up about 1.8 basis points at 4.18% and the 10-year rate falling 0.8 basis points to 4.46%.

In company news, Intel (INTC) closed 11% higher Thursday, among the top gainers on the S&P 500. US President Donald Trump announced that Apple (AAPL) had agreed to partner with Intel to design and manufacture chips domestically.

Wedbush Securities said the chip production agreement is a major growth opportunity for Intel.

Apple shares rose 0.7%.

Sandisk (SNDK) shares closed 12% nearly higher, top performer on the S&P 500.

Accenture (ACN) shares finished 18% lower, the steepest decline on the index. The company trimmed the top end of its full-year revenue growth outlook as its sales fell short of market expectations in the fiscal third quarter, while the consulting firm announced three acquisition deals worth about $4.18 billion.

Gold was down 3.4% at $4,233.30 per troy ounce, while silver slumped 7.1% to $66.24 per ounce.

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