Kamal Ghorui
Wall Street began in green on Wednesday, lifted by news that US President Donald Trump had agreed to prolong the ceasefire with Iran, soothing fears of further escalation. As of 7:17 pm IST, Dow Jones was up 320 points or 0.65% to 49,469 while tech heavy Nasdaq jumped 200 points or 0.8% to reach 24,460. S&P 500 touched 7,113, adding 49 points or 0.7%.The rally comes as US President Donald Trump has reportedly given Iran a limited window of “three to five days” to come up with a unified proposal for negotiations, with American officials indicating the current ceasefire extension will not continue indefinitely, according to an Axios report citing three US officials.Markets were encouraged by the prospect of continued dialogue, with sentiment indicating that investors are placing their bets on a negotiated resolution rather than a prolonged military conflict. Even so, underlying risks continued to weigh on the outlook. Oil prices remained close to $100 a barrel, keeping concerns about a potential resurgence in inflation alive.On the corporate front, the earnings season gathered pace, offering additional support to equities. Strong results so far have helped reinforce confidence in the strength of the US consumer, widely seen as the backbone of economic expansion.Data from Goldman Sachs showed that S&P 500 earnings per share forecasts for 2026 and 2027 have risen by 4% since late January.In premarket activity, GE Vernova jumped 7.5% after lifting its full-year revenue outlook. Boston Scientific edged up 1.3%, while United Airlines gained 1.2% after releasing its first-quarter results. Boeing shares advanced 3.9% after reporting a quarterly loss that was smaller than anticipated.
