Dow Hits Record Highs, S&P 500 And Nasdaq Climb Amid Hopes Of Diplomatic Resolution Between US and Iran— IBM, STLA, SPOT, FCEL, EL In Focus

• The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones rose 0.2% and 0.5% respectively, and the Nasdaq gained 0.1%.
• Iran said the latest US proposal has partly bridged the gap between the warring sides.
• The Trump administration has agreed to award $1 billion to International Business Machines (IBM) to build a foundry for producing quantum-computing chips. 

U.S. benchmark stock indices inched higher on Thursday as investors assessed positive signs of diplomacy between U.S. and Iran, while President Donald Trump’s $2 billion quantum computing push aided sentiment. 

The S&P 500 rose 0.2%, the Nasdaq gained 0.1%, and the Dow Jones jumped 0.5% to its record highs. The Russell 2000, which tracks stocks with small market capitalizations, inched 0.9% higher, gaining for the second consecutive session. 

Among ETFs tracking benchmark indexes, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) rose 1%, and Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) ended Wednesday around 1.4% higher, while the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) gained 1.3%. 

The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) rose 0.6%. 

Meanwhile, retail sentiment on Stocktwits for SPY, QQQ, and DIA was all in the ‘extremely bullish’ territory with ‘extremely high’ message volumes.

US Market Drivers

Iran said the latest US proposal has partly bridged the gap between the warring sides as they seek to turn a fragile ceasefire into a peace deal.

According to a Bloomberg report, Tehran is in the process of responding to a text submitted by the US, which “has narrowed the gaps to some extent,” the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency reported on Thursday, without saying where it got the information. “Further narrowing requires an end to the temptation for war on Washington’s part.”

Trump’s commentaries on the war have continuously whiplashed between diplomacy and threats this week. On Monday, he said he has put any attack on Iran on hold on request from Middle-East leaders but on Tuesday told reporters he had been “an hour away from making the decision” to resume attacks. 

According to a Financial Times report, Secretary of State Marco Rubio highlighted "some good signs" regarding a potential agreement. The report indicates that Pakistani mediators are anticipated to arrive in Tehran today. Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has maintained a firm stance, declaring that the country "will never back down".

U.S. crude oil fell nearly 2% to close at $96.35 per barrel. International benchmark Brent crude fell more than 2% to settle at $102.58.  as per data from CNBC. 

Alternatively, Reuters reported earlier today that Iran’s supreme leader issued a directive to keep enriched uranium within the country, according to sources, which dampened investor sentiment in early trading.

In other news, the U.S. Department of Commerce will award the grants up to $2 billion to nine quantum computing companies in deals that also include U.S. government equity stakes, according to a Wall Street Journal report. 

IBM will account for half of the total $2 billion grants being awarded by the Trump administration. Rigetti Computing, GlobalFoundries, and Infleqtion were among other quantum computing companies that will receive the grant.  

Trending Stocks To Watch 

International Business Machines (IBM): IBM to receive $1 billion grant from the Trump administration for quantum computing.  

Stellantis (STLA): The automaker presented its new FaSTLAne 2030 financial framework and ambitious long-term financial targets at its Investor Day. 

Spotify (SPOT): The audio streaming platform unveiled a sweeping suite of AI features and a music-industry partnership during its 2026 Investor Day, signaling a major push into AI-driven content creation and monetization.   

Fuelcell (FCEL): shares jumped as much as 28% on Thursday after the company announced the election of cybersecurity entrepreneur and former McKinsey & Co. veteran John Livingston to its board of directors. 

Estee Lauder (EL): The makeup maker and Puig confirmed on Thursday that they have ended talks about a potential merger.

Read More: SPOT Stock Sees Best Day In Three Months After Launching Several AI Tools, Including One To Rival Google's NotebookLM    

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