US STOCKS-S&P 500 rises as investors focus on Mideast peace hopes as oil prices dip

Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index closed slightly higher after ‌Thursday's ​choppy session as oil prices finished lower and investors hoped for a Middle East peace deal even as the U.S. and Iran appeared to take directly opposing stances over Tehran's uranium stockpile and control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index closed slightly higher after ‌Thursday's ​choppy session as oil prices finished lower and investors hoped for a Middle East peace deal even as the U.S. and Iran appeared to take directly opposing stances over Tehran's uranium stockpile and control of the Strait of Hormuz. After spending the morning in the red, stocks clawed their way back to gains in afternoon trading while oil ‌prices shifted from a rally to a decline as investors monitored social media for news on the peace progress. While U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters there had been "some good signs" in talks with Iran, he also said a diplomatic deal between the U.S. and Iran would be unfeasible if Tehran implemented a tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz, which is a key conduit for oil transportation. Earlier on Thursday, a Reuters report signaled a hardening stance from Tehran with Supreme ‌Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issuing a directive that the uranium should not be sent abroad. However, President Donald Trump said the U.S. will eventually recover Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium - which Washington believes is destined for a nuclear ‌weapon though Tehran says it is intended purely for peaceful purposes.

Jason Pride, chief of investment strategy and research at Glenmede, attributed volatility during Thursday's session to investor reactions to speculation about geopolitics. "We're sitting at high levels of valuation partly driven by earnings," said Pride. "That overshadowed the concerns around Iran but now earnings season is largely over. We're not going to suddenly get any more good surprises out of earnings, which means that market attention is now back to Iran. The market, on a near-term basis, is going to be finding its way based on rumors or actual ⁠announced deals regarding ​Iran."

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 11.54 points, or ⁠0.16%, to end at 7,444.51 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 25.82 points, or 0.09%, to 26,296.18. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 278.91 points, or 0.56%, to 50,288.26. "The silver lining is that from a market perspective, the fragile ceasefire is still holding. It's positive there's still, according ⁠to news reports, the possibility of an off-ramp. Oil and market sentiment is very sensitive to every headline," said Marc Dizard, chief investment officer at Huntington Wealth Management. He added, however: "Nobody knows, except the inner circle in Iran and in the U.S., how much progress ​is truly being made." Investors were also reacting to the latest batch of earnings from big U.S. companies. Walmart shares tumbled after the largest global retailer forecast second-quarter profit below estimates and maintained its annual targets. CFO ⁠John David Rainey said consumers were feeling pressure from high fuel prices and that if "elevated cost environment persists, we'd expect somewhat higher retail price inflation in Q2 and the second half of the year."

Among the S&P 500's 11 major industry sectors, consumer staples led losses as they were weighed down by Walmart's ⁠fall ​along with declines in some other retailers that fell in sympathy, including Casey's General Stores and Costco Wholesale. Shares of Nvidia, the world's most valuable company, fell as some investors took profits after the AI heavyweight's upbeat second-quarter revenue forecast and $80 billion share-repurchase program. Its stock has gained sharply so far this year but the pace of growth has slowed as investors believe Nvidia will face tougher competition from chip rivals including Intel and Advanced Micro Devices going forward. In economic ⁠data, jobless claims fell last week, pointing to continued labor market resilience, giving the U.S. Federal Reserve room to keep its focus on inflation risks. U.S. manufacturing activity rose to a four-year high in May as businesses built inventories ⁠to guard against potential shortages and rising prices tied to ⁠the Iran war. Among other movers, IBM rose on news that the Trump administration will fund a handful of quantum computing companies, including a new IBM venture, in exchange for stakes in some of the firms.

GlobalFoundries also climbed along with D-Wave Quantum, Rigetti Computing and Infleqtion . Intuit's shares plunged after the software maker lowered the annual revenue forecast for its tax-filing ‌software, TurboTax, and said it would cut ‌17% of its full-time workforce.