Ticker: Wall Street hits a record; Snapchat announces job cuts

The U.S. stock market hit a record Wednesday after adding to its two-week rally built on hopes the war with Iran won’t create a worst-case scenario for the global economy.

The S&P 500 rose 0.8% and eclipsed its prior all-time high set in January. After falling nearly 10% below its record in late March.

Much of the rally has been due to expectations for calming tensions in the war and a resumption of the full flow of oil from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide. Hopes remained high Wednesday as regional officials said that the United States and Iran had an “in principle agreement” to extend a ceasefire to allow for more diplomacy.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, added 0.1% to settle at $94.93. That’s still well above its roughly $70 price from before the war, though it’s down from its $119 peak when worries about the fighting hit their heights.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 72 points, or 0.1%, while the Nasdaq composite gained 1.6%.

Snapchat announces job cuts

The owner of social media platform Snapchat said Wednesday it’s eliminating about 16% of its global workforce, or about 1,000 jobs that will be culled in its latest round of layoffs.

Snap Inc. said in a regulatory filing that the job cuts will cost about $95 million to $130 million in severance payments and related costs.

“The headcount reduction is designed to further streamline our operations and reallocate resources toward our highest-priority initiatives, leveraging increased operational efficiencies to accelerate our path toward net-income profitability,” the company said in its filing.

Snap had 5,261 full-time employees as of Dec. 31, 2025, the company said in its latest annual report.