US close: Stocks bounce back as oil retreats, earnings impress

(Sharecast News) - Major indices closed higher on Tuesday as major indices bounced back from yesterday's losses as market participants cheered strong quarterly earnings and oil prices retreated.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.73% at 49,298.25, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.81% to 7,259.22 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.03% firmer at 25,326.13.

The Dow closed 356.35 points higher on Wednesday, bouncing back from losses recorded in the previous session following reports from the United Arab Emirates that Iran had launched drones and missiles against it, putting an already fragile ceasefire between the US-Israel alliance and Iran on even shakier ground.

US officials also claimed American forces had sunk Iranian boats in the Strait of Hormuz, with admiral Brad Cooper, who leads US Central Command, saying that six small Iranian vessels attempting to interfere with commercial shipping had been eliminated, according to Reuters. Iranian state media, on the other hand, denied that any boats had been sunk.

However, while the ceasefire remains fragile, US defense secretary Pete Hegseth said that it "certainly holds" and that "two US commercial ships, along with American destroyers, have already safely transited the strait, showing the lane is clear". Hegseth's commments come after Donald Trump's previous announcement that the US would "guide" stranded ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

Oil prices headed south on the news, with West Texas Intermediate down 3.90% at $102.27 per barrel, while international benchmark Brent crude was 3.15% lower at $110.83 a barrel.

In terms of Tuesday's corporate earnings, Pfizer reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings and revenue on Tuesday, with the pharmaceutical giant earning $0.75 per share, excluding certain items, on revenues of $14.45bn, while Budweiser parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev also reported a quarterly earnings and revenue beat of $0.97 per share and $15.27bn, respectively.

Digital payments giant PayPal's Q1 earnings and revenue came in ahead of estimates, with the group also announcing a $1.5bn cost reduction program over the next two to three years. PayPal Q1 earnings rose 1% to $1.34 per share on an adjusted basis, while revenue climbed 7% to $8.35bn.

After the close, Electronic Arts posted weaker‑than‑expected quarterly earnings, with adjusted EPS of $1.81 falling short of the $2.39 consensus despite a 12% year‑on‑year rise in revenue to $2.12bn, while chipmaker AMD delivered a stronger set of Q1 numbers, beating forecasts with adjusted earnings of $1.37 per share on revenue of $10.25bn as demand for AI hardware continued to drive growth.

On the macro front, US exports rose to $320.9bn in March, an increase of $6.2bn from February, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Imports also moved higher, rising $8.7bn on the month to $381.2bn. The overall goods and services deficit widened to $60.3bn in March, up from a revised $57.8bn in February, reflecting a $4.1bn increase in the goods deficit to $88.7bn and a $1.6bn rise in the services surplus to $28.4bn. Year‑to‑date, the deficit narrowed by $211.2bn, compared with the same period in 2025. Exports were up 12%, while imports fell 9.1%.

Elsewhere, S&P Global's services PMI rose to 51.0 in April from 49.8, down slightly lower from flash estimates but still ahead of expectations. The report pointed to a tentative rebound following the initial shock from the Middle East war, though new business fell for the first time in two years amid client uncertainty and tariff concerns. As a result, S&P's composite PMI was revised down to 51.7 from 52.0.

On another note, the Institute for Supply Management's services PMI edged down to 53.6 in April from 54.0 in March, broadly in line with expectations and still above last year's averages. Business activity strengthened, with the output index rising two points to 55.9, supported by a reduction in backlogs even as new orders slipped sharply to 53.5. Employment improved but remained below the 50‑point threshold for a second month, while price pressures intensified, with the prices index jumping to 70.7 - its highest reading since 2022.

Still on data, job openings held steady at 6.9m in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' JOLTS report, while hires picked up and overall separations were little changed. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the job‑openings rate was broadly unchanged at 4.1%, with openings falling sharply in professional and business services, down 318,000, but rising by 98,000 in finance and insurance. Hires increased to 5.6m in March, a rise of 655,000 on the month, lifting the hires rate to 3.5% and more than reversing the prior month's decline, while total separations were little changed at 5.4m, leaving the separations rate steady at 3.4%.

Finally, new home sales rose 7.4% month‑on‑month to an annualised 682,000 units in March, according to the Census Bureau, beating expectations for 650,000 and up from 635,000 in February. Gains were driven by the South and Northeast, offsetting declines in the West and Midwest. Housing supply stood at 481,000 units, equivalent to 8.5 months of inventory at the current sales pace, while the median new‑home price fell 6.2% year‑on‑year to $387,400.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $108.15 10.12%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $904.59 3.41%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $94.30 2.82%

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $284.18 2.37%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $918.89 1.73%

Boeing Co. (BA) $224.38 1.39%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $329.59 1.20%

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $144.90 1.03%

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $315.42 0.96%

3M Co. (MMM) $142.82 0.89%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $363.87 -1.86%

Visa Inc. (V) $322.03 -1.47%

American Express Co. (AXP) $315.95 -1.02%

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $100.48 -0.82%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $411.38 -0.61%

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $47.34 -0.48%

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $229.03 -0.20%

Nike Inc. (NKE) $43.06 -0.07%

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $301.35 -0.06%

S&P 500 - Risers

Waters Corp. (WAT) $342.75 13.54%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $640.20 13.43%

Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $117.94 13.06%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $108.15 10.12%

IQVIA Holdings Inc. (IQV) $176.42 9.62%

Rockwell Automation Inc. (ROK) $435.93 8.90%

Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG) $25.11 8.19%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $275.80 7.36%

Revvity, Inc. (RVTY) $92.30 6.69%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $465.26 6.49%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Ipg Photonics Corp. (IPGP) $90.84 -28.33%

Huntington Ingalls Inds Inc Wi (HII) $326.13 -10.25%

Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $46.49 -8.84%

Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $158.23 -8.73%

Aptiv PLC (APTV) $54.83 -7.90%

Ball Corp (BALL) $57.11 -6.27%

Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $168.71 -5.08%

eBay Inc. (EBAY) $105.26 -4.67%

Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $87.89 -4.50%

DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $11.37 -3.64%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $640.20 13.43%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $108.15 10.12%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $275.80 7.36%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $465.26 6.49%

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $410.82 6.02%

QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $186.55 5.87%

Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $771.01 4.95%

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $72.56 4.81%

American Airlines Group (AAL) $12.37 4.26%

Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $98.48 3.70%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $0.34 -13.49%

Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $46.49 -8.84%

Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $158.23 -8.73%

Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $168.71 -5.08%

eBay Inc. (EBAY) $105.26 -4.67%

Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $87.89 -4.50%

DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $11.37 -3.64%

Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $26.40 -3.47%

Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $248.65 -2.34%

Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $26.46 -2.11%