James Gruber

Let's take a look at currencies.

They were higher against the US dollar on improved risk appetite.

The euro rose 0.5% to 1.1747 US dollars.

The Japanese yen advanced almost 1% to 156.41 yen.

And the Aussie dollar jumped 0.8% to 72.37 US cents.

Let's head to Wall Street.

The Dow Jones index finished up 1.2%, the S&P 500 was 1.5% higher, and the Nasdaq climbed 2%.

A closer look at the trading day there.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq jumped to record highs on Wednesday, buoyed by signs of a resolution in the Middle East conflict, while strong earnings from advanced micro devices sparked a rally in chipmakers and other AI-related stocks.

Nine of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes rose, led by industrials up 2.6%, followed by information technology.

Advanced micro-devices soared 19% to a record high after forecasting quarterly revenue above expectations on robust demand for its data center chips.

The semiconductor index jumped almost 5%, bringing its 2026 gain to almost 60%.

Corning surged 12% after saying it was partnering with NVIDIA to expand U.S.

production of optical connectivity products used in AI data centers.

NVIDIA climbed almost 6%.

Walt Disney rose almost 8% after the entertainment firm beat estimates for second quarter results.

Uber Technologies gained 9% after the ride-hailing and delivery platform forecast strong second quarter bookings.

In U.S.

economic news, U.S.

private payrolls rose by 109,000 jobs, posting their largest increase in 15 months in April, pointing to continued labor market stability.