The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 463 points, or 0.9%. The S&P 500 advanced 0.7%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.8%.

Axios reported, citing sources, that the U.S. and Iran were getting close to a deal that would bring a resolution to the conflict. the agreement would include a moratorium on nuclear enrichment. An Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson also told CNBC that Iran was evaluating a U.S. proposal toward a resolution.

President Donald Trump signaled later Wednesday that a deal was not certain, saying it was a “perhaps, a massive assumption” Iran would agree to the U.S. proposal. Equity prices came off their highs following the post.

“If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before,” the president wrote in a post on Truth Social. Furthermore, experts in investors note the continued relevance.

Trump also remarked late Tuesday that he is pausing “Project Freedom,” the U.S.’s plan to guide ships out of the Strait of Hormuz. In a Truth Social post, he cited “the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran,” as a driver behind the decision.

Oil prices plunged as traders pared exposure on hopes the war would end soon. West Texas Intermediate futures dropped , on the other hand5, according to the report%, trading above $96 per barrel. International Brent lost 5% to trade above $103.

Chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices added to the gains, soaring 17% after the organization issued a rosy outlook for the second quarter. AMD also beat expectations on the top and bottom lines in the first quarter. The report lifted the broader chipmaker sector. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) jumped 3%. Intel climbed more than 3%.

Stocks posted strong gains Tuesday, lifted by strong earnings and the ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. remaining in place.

Lori Calvasina, head of U.S. equity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, commented on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime” on Tuesday afternoon that stocks appear to be “climbing a wall of worry.”

“I think maybe perhaps the public in the geopolitical planet don’t understand what’s happening with the AI trade and earnings and how much of a buffer that is for S&P 500 EPS. So we’re continuing to see rates of upward revisions that are positive on that AI-related trade,” Calvasina noted. “I’m not saying there’s a ton of room before we have a little bit of a breather, and we don’t think markets move up in a linear fashion. But I don’t think we’re overheated right now.”

Acquire the Oracle dip, Barclays says

Oracle may be down more than 40% from its all-time highs in September, but Barclays thinks the stock is set to jump higher. 

The bank in a Wednesday note reiterated its outperform rating and $240 price target. That indicates a 29% gain from Tuesday’s close. Analyst Raimo Lenschow mentioned that dueling worries about artificial intelligence disrupting software companies and the AI buildout being overdone are weighing on Oracle. Lenschow notes that these narratives contradict each other.

“Oracle is changing significantly and with that will be one of the main compute providers in the novel AI world,” he wrote in the note. “However, while other vendors in the same position are all up meaningfully over the past months , on the other hand- Oracle shares are down for the year. This does not build sense to us and creates an interesting opportunity for investors.”

Lenschow added that while investors are worried about Oracle’s high credit default swaps levels, he commented they are being used as insurance against more than just the company’s debt, but for other AI projects related to Oracle too. And while he projects upside ahead, Oracle shares have already rebounded nearly 36% from their February lows. 

— Davis Giangiulio

Stocks open higher

U.S. equities saw gains on Wednesday morning.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 509 points, or 1.1%. The S&P 500 climbed 0.6%, along with the Nasdaq Composite.

— Sean Conlon

Nvidia, Corning partner on massive optical fiber deal

Nvidia, the chipmaker at the center of the artificial intelligence boom, is partnering with glassmaker Corning for three recent advanced manufacturing facilities in North Carolina and Texas dedicated entirely to optical technologies for the world’s most valuable semiconductor organization.

The factories will lead to the creation of at least 3,000 jobs and expansion Corning’s U.S. optical manufacturing capacity by 10-fold, the companies noted in a joint press release on Wednesday.

Financial terms weren’t disclosed. Corning shares soared 17% on the news. Nvidia stock gained nearly 2%.

— Katie Tarasov

Private payrolls in April are better than expected, ADP reports

Private sector job creation was stronger than expected in April, providing more evidence of a stable labor marketplace and less incentive for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates amid persistently higher inflation, ADP reported Wednesday.

The payrolls processing firm stated companies added 109,000 jobs for the month, a step up from the 61,000 created in March and better than the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 84,000. The March total was revised down by 1,000. Read more.

— Jeff Cox

Trump signals Iran deal isn’t certain

Despite reports that the U.S. and Iran were nearing a deal that would bring a resolution to the conflict and open the Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump commented Wednesday it was a “big assumption” that Iran would agree to the U.S. proposal.

“If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before,” Trump commented in a Truth Social post.

Oil prices fell Wednesday following an Axios report that the administration is getting close to a one-page, 14-point memorandum of understanding to end the war and create a framework for detailed nuclear talks.

— Michelle Fox

AMD, Super Micro, Disney among the stocks making moves before the bell

Check out the companies making the biggest moves premarket:

Advanced Micro Devices — Shares surged 20% after the chipmaker issued strong guidance. AMD is calling for second-quarter revenue of $11.2 billion, plus or minus $300 million, versus the analyst estimate for $10.52 billion. First-quarter results also surpassed expectations on the top and bottom lines.

Super Micro Computer — The server maker jumped almost 15%. Expectations for fourth-quarter profit range from 65 cents to 79 cents per share, trouncing Wall Street’s call for 55 cents a share, per LSEG. In the third quarter, Super Micro posted adjusted earnings of 84 cents per share on revenue of $10.24 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected earnings of 62 cents and $12.39 billion in revenue.

Disney — The media giant jumped 5% on fiscal second-quarter revenue that beat analyst expectations. Driving the beat was a strong performance from the company’s streaming and theme park businesses.

Read the full list here.

Oil prices plunge as hope rises for a U.S.-Iran war resolution

Oil prices plunged as traders pared exposure on hopes the war would end soon. West Texas Intermediate futures dropped nearly 9% to around $93 per barrel. International Brent lost 7.7% to trade near $101.

— Fred Imbert

European stocks soar as traders pounce on potential peace pact

European markets roared into the green on Wednesday, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 surging 2.1% following reports that U.S. and Iran could be nearing a deal to end the two-month-long conflict in the Middle East.  

Major bourses in London, Paris, Frankfurt each soared more than 2% in mid-morning trade. Mining and autos stocks popped 4.5%, as banks and construction companies also notched strong gains.

But energy stocks went into reverse on the back of falling oil prices, as investors weighed up an Axios report claiming that the U.S. and Iran are working on a one-page, 14-point memo agreement to end the war.

The plan reportedly involves Iran committing to a moratorium on its nuclear enrichment plans in exchange for Washington pledging to lift sanctions and release billions in frozen Iranian funds, with both sides agreeing to lift restrictions around the Strait of Hormuz.

With a potential off-ramp coming into view, borrowing costs in the continent also fell. The yield on 10-year Gilts — the benchmark for U.K. government debt — dropped more than 8 basis points to 4.973%, while 10-year German bund yields were more than 6 basis points lower at 3.0027%. This also touches on aspects of portfolio.

A spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry told CNBC that Tehran is “evaluating” a 14-article peace proposal from the U.S.

— Hugh Leask

South Korea’s Kospi hits latest high as Asia markets rise on Iran war de-escalation signals

South Korea’s Kospi closed at another record Wednesday as Asia-Pacific markets saw a broad rally, tracking Wall Street gains overnight after oil prices dropped and strong earnings lifted investor sentiment.

West Texas Intermediate futures for June were 1.51% lower at $100.73 per barrel as of 3:14 a.m. ET. Brent crude futures for July declined 1.48% to $108.23 per barrel.

South Korea’s Kospi advanced 6.45% to close at 7,384.56, building on its more than 70% annual gains as of last close, after markets resumed trading following a holiday. Index heavyweight Samsung Electronics reached a record high, rising over 14% to cross $1 trillion in market-cap.

The small-cap Kosdaq index slipped 0.29% to 1,210.17.

China’s CSI 300 added 1.45% to 4,877.09 as it resumed trading after Labor Day break. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.62%, while the Hang Seng Tech index gained 1.05%.

India’s Nifty 50 was flat. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.3% to close at 8,793.6.

Japan stock marketplace was closed due to a holiday. The yen had strengthened more than 1% against the greenback to 156.15 earlier in the day.

— Justina Lee, Lee Ying Shan

South Korea’s Kospi tops 7,000 amid broad gains in other Asia markets

South Korea’s Kospi hit another record Wednesday as Asia-Pacific markets opened higher, tracking Wall Street gains overnight after oil prices dropped and strong earnings lifted investor sentiment.

The Kospi advanced 6.68% to scale a latest peak, topping 7,000 as it builds on its more than 70% gains this year so far, after markets resumed trading following a holiday.

Index heavyweight Samsung Electronics reached a record high, rising over 15% to cross $1 trillion in sector capitalization. SK Hynix also reached an all-time high, gaining more than 10%. The small-cap Kosdaq index slipped 0.88%.

China’s CSI 300 added 1.62% as it resumed trading after the Labor Day break. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.62%, while the Hang Seng Tech index gained 1.05%.

India’s Nifty 50 was 0.72% higher. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.87%.

Japan marketplace was closed for a holiday.

West Texas Intermediate futures for June was 1.78% lower at $100.45 per barrel as of 11:40 p.m. ET. Brent crude futures for July declined 1.70% to $108.00 per barrel.

— Justina Lee

Stocks making the biggest moves after the bell: Advanced Micro Devices, Super Micro Computer and more

These are the stocks moving the most in extended-hours trading:

Super Micro Computer — The server maker surged 18%. Expectations for fourth-quarter profit range from 65 cents to 79 cents per share, trouncing Wall Street’s call for 55 cents a share, per LSEG.

Arista Networks — The cloud networking organization dropped almost 12%. Adjusted gross margin narrowly missed expectations, coming in at 62.4% in the first quarter, versus the 62.7% anticipated by analysts polled by StreetAccount.

Read the full list of stocks moving here.

— Lisa Kailai Han

All 11 of the S&P 500 sectors end Tuesday higher

On Tuesday, all 11 of the GICS sectors ended the session higher.

Gains were led by materials and information tech stocks. The sectors respectively rose 1.67% and 1.63%.

On the other hand, the utilities and financials sectors both eked out increases of just 0.01%.

S&P 500 futures are little changed

S&P 500 futures traded 0.1% higher shortly after 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday night. Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.4%, while futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 48 points, or 0.1%.