04:40 PM EDT, 04/24/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 hit records on Friday as Intel's ( INTC ) blowout Q1 results galvanized the technology sector amid reports that the White House is sending its Iran peace envoys to Pakistan for talks this weekend.

The Nasdaq was up 1.6% to 24,836.60, after touching a record 24,854.04 intraday. The S&P 500 was up 0.8% to 7,165.08, after hitting a peak of 7,168.59 earlier in the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.2% to 49,230.71 at the close, as health care, industrials, and financials led the decliners.

Intel ( INTC ) shares soared 24%, the top gainer on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, after the company reported higher fiscal Q1 adjusted earnings and revenue. The chipmaker issued a fiscal Q2 outlook above market expectations. Nvidia ( NVDA ) , Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) , and Arm (ARM) were among the biggest outperformers across the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the main mediator between Tehran and Washington, arrived in Islamabad, according to The Wall Street Journal. US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will travel to Pakistan on Saturday to participate in direct talks with Iran, CNN cited the White House.

There is, however, no confirmation yet that American delegates will meet directly with Araghchi, according to both publications. US Vice President JD Vance will be on standby to travel if there is progress in the negotiations, a White House official told the WSJ.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures fell 1% to $94.87, while Brent crude futures rose 0.8% to $105.95. Both WTI and Brent were up more than 1.5% each earlier in the session.

In precious metals, gold futures rose 0.1% to $4,726.8, and silver futures climbed 0.5% to $75.91, after both traded lower earlier in the session.

In economic news, the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index was revised up to 49.8 for April from 47.6 preliminary, compared with expectations for 48.5 in a Bloomberg-compiled survey. The index remains below the final 53.3 print in March. Respondents expected a 4.7% inflation rate over the next year and 3.5% annual inflation over the next five years, up from 3.8% and 3.2%, respectively, in March.

US Attorney General for DC Jeanine Pirro said Friday on X that she has ordered her office to close its investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The Inspector General for the Federal Reserve has been asked to scrutinize cost overruns related to building construction, Pirro said. The move likely brings Kevin Warsh closer to taking over from Powell next month.

Most US Treasury yields fell, with the 10-year slipping 1.5 basis points to 4.31% and the two-year dropping 4.2 basis points to at 3.78%.