NEW YORK, April 15 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the

Nasdaq both logged record closing highs on Wednesday as

investors assessed developments in the U.S.-Iran conflict and

turned their focus to corporate earnings.

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Here are a few articles I recommend to help you make sense

of what happened in markets today.

1. U.S. President Donald Trump said the war on Iran was

nearing its conclusion amid a diplomatic push to continue peace

talks

2. The International Monetary Fund cautioned countries

against implementing broad fuel subsidies to cope with

war-related energy shock

3. Bank of America beat first-quarter profit

estimates as market volatility boosted trading revenue to a

record

4. Morgan Stanley, benefiting from a surge in

dealmaking and record equities trading revenue, also beat

first-quarter profit expectations

5. Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack said that while

she sees no immediate need for the Fed to change its target

rate, rate cuts or even hikes are possible down the road

Today's Key Market Moves

* STOCKS: Tech shares boosted the Nasdaq and helped

boost the S&P 500 to a record closing high, while European

shares dipped as investors gauged Middle East developments,

earnings

* SECTORS/SHARES: Of the 11 major sectors in the S&P

500, four ended green, led by tech shares. The S&P 500

Software & Services index, having suffered a months-long period

of weakness on AI disruption fears, was a clear outperformer,

rising 4.3%

* FX: The dollar was essentially flat on a range-bound

day

* BONDS: Benchmark Treasury yields rose as investors

weighed Trump's assurances that the war could end soon

* COMMODITIES/METALS: U.S. WTI crude settled essentially

flat and Brent settled slightly higher, while gold drifted lower

as investors assessed the latest signals from the U.S.-Iran

situation

Today's Talking Points

* S&P 500, Nasdaq reached their first record closing highs

since the U.S.-Iran conflict began

Hopes of de-escalation and robust earnings expectations

pushed the indexes to all-time closing highs, reassuring

investors that a bull market remains intact.

Reaching those records during an active geopolitical crisis

signified a shift in market positioning as traders appeared more

willing to price in less severe escalation risks in the near

term.

* Shares of Allbirds soared 582.3% after announcing a move

from footwear to AI computing infrastructure

In an unusual pivot, the San Francisco-based company said it

would execute a $50 million convertible financing agreement with

an institutional investor, the proceeds of which will be used to

acquire graphics processing units (GPUs).

* Trump threatens to fire Powell if he doesn't quit Fed

board

Trump has threatened to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome

Powell from his separate seat on the central bank's Board of

Governors if he does not relinquish the post when his term as

Fed chief ends on May 15.

The administration's threats against Powell, including an

ongoing criminal investigation, could delay Senate confirmation

of Kevin Warsh, Trump's pick to succeed Powell.

What could move markets tomorrow?

* Developments in the Middle East

* Energy market moves

* Social media posts from Trump

* U.S. weekly jobless claims

* U.S. industrial output (March)

* UK GDP (February)

* UK industrial output (February)

* Euro zone consumer prices (March)

* Austria, Italy, Poland, Croatia CPI (March)

* Federal Reserve policymakers slated to speak: New York Fed

President John Williams, Fed Board Governor Stephen Miran

* Companies on deck to report first-quarter earnings

tomorrow include Netflix ( NFLX ), U.S. Bancorp ( USB ),

Travelers Companies ( TRV ) and PepsiCo ( PEP ), among others

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