News

US equities edged higher on Wednesday (April 15), with major indexes posting modest gains as markets remained close to record territory.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite also advanced 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 157 points, or 0.3%.

In individual movers, Broadcom climbed 2% during the session. The gains came after Meta Platforms expanded its partnership with Broadcom to use its technology for custom chip development.

US President Donald Trump said he would fire Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve if he does not leave that post “in time,” and insisted that the Justice Department investigation into the central bank leader would continue.

“I’ll have to fire him, OK, if he’s not leaving on time. I’ve held back firing him. I’ve wanted to fire him, but I hate to be controversial,” Trump said in an interview with Fox Business.

“I want to be uncontroversial. But he will be fired,” he said in the interview that aired Wednesday.

Powell’s stint as the leader of the central bank expires in May, but his term on the Board of Governors does not end until 2028.

Accel, the venture capital firm that’s backed artificial intelligence companies including Anthropic, Cursor and Perplexity, has raised $5 billion in new funds to keep up its big bets in the age of increasingly valuable artificial intelligence startups.

The firm will dedicate $4 billion to its fifth Leaders fund, focused on writing large checks to late-stage startups around the world, Accel plans to announce Wednesday.

The firm also raised $650 million for a so-called sidecar fund, which gives limited partners extra exposure to Accel’s biggest investments by allowing it to selectively increase the size of certain bets, especially for investments in its existing portfolio, Accel partner Matt Weigand said.

New York state factory activity expanded in April at the strongest pace in five months, though firms’ views about the outlook and costs soured in the wake of the Iran war.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s general business conditions index increased by 11.2 points to 11, figures issued Wednesday showed. Readings above zero indicate expansion. The survey reflected the strongest growth in orders and shipments since 2023.

However, the overall outlook for business conditions over the next six months deteriorated to a five-month low. A measure of expected input prices jumped 18.5 points, the most since 2011, to 61.6 as the conflict in the Middle East drove up the cost of oil and other industrial materials. An index of the outlook for prices received also increased, but moderately.

The US and Iran are closer to extending a ceasefire and restarting negotiations about a longer-term peace deal, the Associated Press reported, even as a standoff intensifies over the Strait of Hormuz.

The two sides have an “in principle agreement” to pursue further diplomacy after an inconclusive initial round of talks in Pakistan at the weekend, the AP said, citing regional officials it didn’t identify.

Mediators are pushing for a compromise on outstanding issues, including Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program, before the April 7 truce expires next week, the news agency said.

Watch this space for all the live updates on the US Stock Market.NewsLive TVMarketPopular CategoriesCalculatorsTrending NowLet's Connect with CNBCTV 18Network 18 Group :©TV18 Broadcast Limited. All rights reserved.