Nasdaq 100 heads for record after Intel’s blockbuster guidance

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at the opening bell in New York on April 16, 2026. Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP via Getty Images

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The Nasdaq 100 Index was on track for a fresh all-time closing high on Friday as a blockbuster sales forecast from Intel Corp. fuelled a rally in technology stocks. Meanwhile, traders optimism about the Middle East increased as Iran’s foreign minister said he was headed to Pakistan.

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The tech-heavy gauge gained 1.7 per cent at 12:01 p.m. in New York, with chipmakers such as Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and ARM Holdings Plc contributing to gains. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Index advanced 0.7 per cent.

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“With earnings season underway, fundamentals are back, which is a welcome development for stocks, which have been tethered to the price of oil for much of the past two months,” said David Laut, chief investment officer at Kerux Financial.

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Intel, which gained 22 per cent, is on track to reach an all-time high after delivering a revenue forecast that shattered Wall Street expectations. The upbeat outlook from Intel suggests progress is being made on a turnaround plan that positions the chipmaker to benefit from the buildout of artificial-intelligence computing.

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“There’s beating earnings expectations and then there’s smashing them,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell. “With no hint of hyperbole, it’s fair to say Intel has done the latter with its latest quarterly results.”

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The earnings come as the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index, known as the SOX, is in the midst of a record rally. The chipmaker gauge was 4.2 per cent higher on Friday. Investors are anticipating strong growth for the sector driven by demand related to artificial intelligence.

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The next week will be important for tech, with five of the so-called Magnificent Seven — Amazon.com Inc., Alphabet Inc., Meta Platforms Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc. — reporting earnings.

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These will help confirm “whether or not the sector’s share price gains in recent weeks are justified,” said Kerux Financial’s Laut. “The big tech stock correction that started prior to the Iran war has just about run its course, and valuations are back to elevated levels. The outlook for big tech stocks depends purely on earnings.”

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Nervous

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Outside of the tech euphoria, traders watched for updates on the U.S. and Iran.

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Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, said he was heading to Pakistan, but poured cold water on speculation that the Islamic Republic and the U.S. were close to a second round of negotiations. Meanwhile, CNN reported that Trump will send U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan for talks, citing two administration officials.

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Brent crude fell 0.6 per cent to US$104 per barrel as Pakistan said a second round of U.S.-Iran talks were expected, without saying when the negotiations would take place. Earlier, an official familiar with the matter said Iran’s foreign minister was expected in Islamabad on Friday night for a possible second round of peace talks.