U.S. stocks closed higher on Thursday, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 indexes reaching new record highs. Brent crude oil prices approached $100 per barrel. The market was influenced by a temporary ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 114.88 points, or 0.24%, to close at 48,578.72. The Nasdaq Composite gained 86.68 points, or 0.36%, finishing at 24,102.70. The S&P 500 increased by 18.33 points, or 0.26%, to settle at 7,041.28.

According to Dow Jones Market Data, the Nasdaq's 12-day winning streak, continuing since March 31, has matched a record set back in July 2009. New York Fed President John Williams stated that current monetary policy is "well positioned" to handle risks from persistent supply shocks, such as those potentially caused by conflict in the Middle East. A Federal Reserve Governor suggested the Fed should cut interest rates three to four times this year, indicating no need to wait.

Brent crude oil for June delivery surged nearly 5%, closing at $99.39 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery rose almost 4%, settling at $94.69 per barrel. This price movement occurred as a two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran is set to expire on April 21, with the potential for a second round of talks over the weekend remaining uncertain. The U.S. Defense Secretary confirmed that military forces are maintaining a blockade and are prepared to resume operations, while the Treasury Department initiated actions to maximize economic pressure on Iran. The blockade has been expanded to include weapons, ammunition, crude oil, refined products, steel, and aluminum.

Streaming giant NFLX reported first-quarter earnings that surpassed market expectations following a price increase. Revenue for the quarter was $12.25 billion, beating estimates of $12.17 billion and up from $10.54 billion a year ago. Adjusted earnings per share were $1.23, significantly higher than the anticipated $0.76 and up from $0.66 in the prior-year period. However, the company's stock fell sharply in after-hours trading due to disappointing second-quarter guidance. NFLX projected Q2 revenue of $12.57 billion, below Wall Street's forecast of $12.64 billion. Its earnings per share guidance of $0.78 also missed the consensus estimate of $0.84, and its operating profit outlook of $4.11 billion was well under the expected $4.34 billion.

Large technology stocks were mixed. MSFT gained over 2%, while META rose 0.79% and AMZN advanced 0.48%. On the downside, AAPL fell more than 1%, GOOG declined 0.33%, TSLA dropped 0.78%, and NVDA edged down 0.26%.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 0.97%, hitting a new record high. AMD surged over 7%, INTC climbed more than 5%, MCHP advanced over 3%, and QCOM increased more than 1%. In contrast, ASML fell more than 4% and TSM declined over 3%.

In the AI sector, OpenAI and Anthropic are engaged in a low-intensity competition to develop more powerful and convenient AI programming tools. Currently, Anthropic appears to have an edge, with its Claude Code being the preferred choice for many enterprises. On Thursday, OpenAI released an upgraded version of its Codex tool, which can now run in the background on a computer and interact with desktop applications by simulating mouse clicks and keyboard inputs.