Closing Bell: Markets Advance on Hopes Iran Conflict Will Be Short Lived

Key Points

• The S&P 500 (+0.78%), Nasdaq-100 (+1.51%), and Russell 2000 (+1.09%) all advanced, led by Consumer Discretionary, Technology.
• Moderna (MRNA) reached a global settlement with Arbutus (ABUS) and Genevant (ROIV).
• ADP employment rose 63K in February, beating expectations but showing narrow hiring breadth.

Markets moved higher as investors grew cautiously optimistic that the conflict with Iran may be short-lived, even as military strikes continue. The S&P 500 (SPX) rose 0.78%, the Nasdaq-100 (NDX) climbed 1.51%, and the Russell 2000 (RUT) advanced 1.09%.

Consumer Discretionary, Information Technology, and Communication Services led the market higher, while Energy and Consumer Staples were the lagging sectors.

Moderna Announces Settlement over Technology Dispute

Moderna (MRNA) announced a global settlement with Arbutus Biopharma (ABUS) and Genevant Sciences, a subsidiary of Roivant Sciences (ROIV), resolving all worldwide litigation related to the lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology used in its COVID vaccine Spikevax and RSV vaccine mRESVIA. Under the agreement, Moderna will make a $950 million lump-sum payment in Q3 2026, which it expects to record as a charge in Q1 2026.

ADP Report Exceeds Market Expectations

ADP reported that private-sector employment increased by 63,000 in February, beating expectations, though January’s figure was revised sharply lower to 11,000. Hiring gains were heavily concentrated in education and health services (+58,000) and construction (+19,000). Wage growth also continued to moderate, with pay for job-stayers rising 4.5% year over year, while job-switcher wage growth slowed to 6.3%, narrowing the gap and reducing incentives for workers to change jobs.

Market Events for Tomorrow (ET)

7:30 AM ET

• Challenger Job Cuts

8:30 AM ET

• Initial Jobless Claims
• Import Prices
• Preliminary Nonfarm Productivity

10:30 AM ET

• EIA Natural Gas Storage

1:00 PM ET

• Fed Speaker: Governor Michelle Bowman

7:00 PM ET

• Fed Speaker: President Austan Goolsbee

Notable Earnings for Tomorrow

• A.M: BILI, BJ, BURL, CNQ, CIEN, JD, KR, TTC, VSCO
• P.M: COO, COST, GAP, GPRO, GWRE, MRVL, PBR

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