Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at the opening bell in New York, on April 20, 2026.
Timothy A. Clary | AFP | Getty Images
S&P 500 futures were little changed on Wednesday night after both the broad market index and Nasdaq Composite rose to fresh records during the regular session.
S&P 500 futures slipped 0.1%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures were around the flatline. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 173 points, or 0.4%.
Some of the biggest movers on Wednesday night included IBM and ServiceNow, which were respectively trading 6% and 13% lower after reporting their latest results. Shares of Tesla initially rose on better-than-expected earnings. However, the stock later shed about 2% when CEO Elon Musk warned capital expenses would rise “substantially” as the electric vehicle maker moves into AI-powered self-driving cars and humanoid robots.
Both the broad market index and tech-heavy Nasdaq finished at record levels on Wednesday after President Donald Trump extended the U.S. ceasefire with Iran. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose 1.05% and 1.64%, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 340.65 points, or 0.69%.
Late Tuesday afternoon, Trump said that the ceasefire extension was warranted due to Tehran’s government being “seriously fractured.”
Still, geopolitical relations in the region remain tense. A lack of commitment from Iran reportedly resulted in Vice President JD Vance pausing his trip to join peace talks. Iran state media also reported that Tehran negotiators said they wouldn’t be present, calling talks with the U.S. a “waste of time.” And on Wednesday, Iran’s navy said that it had seized two container ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Investor sentiment has also been strengthened by a strong earnings season so far. Of the 87 S&P companies that have reported so far, 81% have reported an earnings beat, while 76% have reported revenue that surprised to the upside.
“The thing that’s really difficult is we keep getting these very, very intense news headlines that give everyone a lot of pause, everyone a lot of heartburn. But at the end of the day, earnings estimates continue to rise, and that really kind of indicates that businesses are figuring out a way to muddle through all of this noise and manage through this uncertainty in a way that they can still deliver profit growth,” said Julie Biel, chief market strategist at Kayne Anderson Rudnick, on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime” on Wednesday afternoon.
Honeywell, American Express, Blackstone, American Airlines and Lockheed Martin are among the stocks reporting earnings Thursday morning. Traders will also watch out for April’s S&P Global PMI manufacturing and services preliminary readings.
7 of the 11 GICS sectors rise on Wednesday
On Wednesday, seven of the 11 GICS sectors finished higher.
Gains were led by information technology stocks, which rose 2.31%. Communication services and energy stocks followed in performance, respectively adding 1.41% and 1.14%.
On the other hand, real estate stocks slipped 0.69% and were the day’s underperformers. The industrials, financials and utilities sectors followed, respectively slipping 0.20%, 0.17% and 0.16%.
— Lisa Kailai Han
Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Tesla, IBM and more
These are the stocks moving the most in extended hours trading:
- Tesla — Shares initially popped 4% after the electric vehicle maker posted first-quarter adjusted earnings of 41 cents per share, beating the 37 cents analysts polled by LSEG had expected. However, shares were recently down about 1% in extended trading.
- International Business Machines — The technology giant slipped nearly 7% after IBM failed to raise its full-year guidance after posting an earnings beat.
- ServiceNow — The AI-powered software company reported first-quarter earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street expectations. However, shares tumbled more than 13% as subscription revenue disappointed investors.
Read the full list of stocks moving here.
— Lisa Kailai Han
