Published April 25, 2026 Updated about 2 hours ago NEW YORK: The S&P 500 climbed and the Nasdaq scaled an intraday record on Friday, supported by renewed hopes for US-Iran negotiations to end the war and a searing rally in Intel shares. Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, was expected in the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Friday to discuss proposals for restarting peace talks with the US, Pakistani government sources said. That gave markets some relief at the end of a week overshadowed by a stalemate, with the US maintaining its naval blockade of Iranian ports while Iran seized ships attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. “Both sides are incentivized to end this quickly. They want to move on. It’s just going to take time and so we’re trying not to get too focused on the day-to-day changes,” said Jack Herr, senior investment analyst at GuideStone Funds. Semiconductors, one of the market’s key pockets of resilience, continued to shine. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index gained 4.3 percent and was on track to extend its winning run to 18 consecutive sessions. Intel, which hit a record high and was last up 23.4 percent, was the biggest gainer on the index following a better-than-expected revenue forecast for the second quarter. Rivals AMD and Arm also climbed over 15 percent each. Nvidia rose 5 percent and was set for a closing record. The information technology index added 2.3 percent and was the biggest boost to the benchmark. Tech stocks also shrugged off DeepSeek’s preview of its highly awaited new model. At 11:52 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell…