All three major indexes notched fresh record highs on Thursday.

For the S&P 500 (^GSPC), this marks the 20th new high this year, which puts the benchmark on pace for its most record closes ever in a year, according to research from Carson Group's Ryan Detrick.

Existing home sales surged in February despite higher mortgage rates.

Gabriella Cruz-Martinez reports:

Existing home sales surged 9.5% in February from the month before to an annualized rate of 4.38 million, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Thursday. That was almost 6% higher than a year earlier, and marked the largest monthly increase in a year.

The median home price also increased almost 6% to $384,500, an all-time high for the month of February, and marking the eighth consecutive month of year-over-year gains.

Still, sales were down from February 2023, signaling some tightness in the market. On the bright side, there were 1.07 million homes available for sale at the end of February, a gain of 10% from a year ago.

The uptick in inventory is a positive for homebuyers, who have long been dealing with a lack of options on the market. However, most activity seen last month stuck to the upper end as entry-level homes remained scarce.

“Maybe the absolute low point in inventory is over,” Lawrence Yun, chief economist at NAR, told reporters in a conference call Thursday. “We are seeing more inventory showing up in the market and consequently maybe this is one big factor as to why we are seeing an increase in home sales: more choices for consumers.”

Nelson Peltz just received key backing in his high-profile proxy battle against Disney (DIS).

Influential proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) recommended shareholders vote for Peltz of Trian Fund Management to join Disney's board — contradicting the view of another high-profile firm, Glass Lewis. The endorsement could breathe new life into Peltz's campaign.

Peltz is currently seeking board seats for himself and former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo.

In a report published Thursday and viewed by Yahoo Finance, ISS said Peltz "as a significant shareholder, could be additive to the succession process, providing assurance to other investors that the board is properly engaged this time around. He could also help evaluate future capital allocation decisions."

"Peltz, with his considerable experience on other boards and fiduciary duties owed to a large shareholding group, appears best positioned to bring a shareholder perspective to the board," the firm added.

Notably, ISS said shareholders should not vote for Rasulo's addition to the board. It also advised shareholders against voting for activist Blackwells Capital's nominees and to withhold their vote against current Disney board member Maria Elena Lagomasino.

Blackwells supports the company's current board but has urged shareholders to vote for its three nominees as additions to it.

On Monday, Glass Lewis recommended shareholders support the company's current board and withhold votes for the nominees put forth by Trian and Blackwells. The firm said CEO Bob Iger's recent initiatives to turn around the business have delivered positive results.

ISS acknowledged these "positive changes," saying it recognizes that "some shareholders may feel that the company has sufficiently course corrected."

"Nonetheless, given the major missteps and severe consequences of the failed 2020 succession, particularly for a company that already had a history of succession drama, it may be difficult for others to simply trust that the board, albeit refreshed, will get it right this time," the firm said.

If the proxy battle continues to a vote, a shareholder meeting set to take place on April 3 will ultimately determine the board's fate.

Read more here.

With Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell noting the inflation story hasn't changed, stocks are once again in rally mode as fears the Fed may cut less than expected appear to have abated for now.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) is up about 0.5% as areas of the market that could benefit from the Fed's projection of higher-than-anticipated economic growth lead the way.

"What we're seeing is we're in a bull market and bull market rules apply," Truist co-chief investment officer Keith Lerner told Yahoo Finance Live. "What tends to happen in a bull market is the surprises tend to be to the upside."

With few blips in the market's rip higher over the last few months, Lerner warned that some sort of pullback in the near term should be expected. But he says investors should stick to the positive "primary trend" that's being supported by a fundamental earnings story.

S&P 500 earnings are projected to grow more than 11% per the latest FactSet data released on Thursday.

"The bottom line is the overall trend is positive," Lerner said. "If we do have a pullback, which we will have, use those as an opportunity."

I have spent half of the day down on the NYSE trading floor working the Reddit IPO (RDDT). Tons of fun being in the middle of the action on a buzzy IPO.

A couple things I picked up on Reddit over the course of a few hours:

• The company opted against making a big advertising splash at the NYSE. There was no banner out front of the exchange, no big swag giveaways down on the floor. The message was clear (at least to me): The company knows it needs to start making sustainable profits.

• Spent some time off camera with Reddit's co-founder and CEO Steve Huffman. He shared he is about to be a first-time father. After continuing this chat, I just didn't get the sense he will be the person that dumps all of his stock anytime soon and leaves investors holding the bag. You can tell his passion for what he helped create is authentic.

• Reading the tea leaves, Reddit probably has a few more AI deals in the works similar to the one it announced pre-IPO with Google (GOOGL). I think Huffman realizes these deals will help reach profitability ahead of when most investors currently believe.

Shares of Reddit (RDDT) opened on the New York Stock Exchange at $47 per share.

The stock quickly gained further, sitting at about $55 per share less than 10 minutes into trading. It has now gained roughly 60% from its IPO price of $34.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) is up about 0.6% in afternoon trade and once again sectors other than tech are leading the charge.

As was the case following yesterday's Federal Reserve press conference that included the central bank upgrading its outlook for economic growth this year, Industrials (XLI) and Consumer Discretionary (XLY) are leading the 11 sectors on the day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose more than 300 points to touch new highs on Thursday.

Goldman Sachs (GS), Intel (INTC), and Home Depot (HD) led the gains. The major average's rise comes despite a 3% fall in Apple (AAPL) shares following a DOJ lawsuit against the iPhone maker.

Reddit shares are indicated to open between $50 and $52 per share, up to 52% higher than the social media company's IPO price of $34 per share.

The platform's debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday is expected to give the markets an indication of what other companies waiting on the IPO sidelines can expect after a two-year lull in public offerings.

Bank stocks jumped on Thursday after the Federal Reserve maintained rates unchanged on Wednesday but continued to hint at rate cuts later this year.

Goldman Sachs (GS) rose more than 3.5% to hit a 52-week high during the session. The stock was hovering above $410 per share.

The S&P 500 Financial Sector ETF (XLF) has risen 11.6% since the start of the year as investors have rotated into bank stocks in anticipation of an easing of monetary policy this year.

Reddit shares are indicated to open anywhere between $42 and $46 per share, as much as 35% higher than the the social media company's IPO price of $34 each.

Indication ranges give investors an idea of where the stock could open. Those figures could change leading up to the moment of listing.

Reddit will trade under the ticker symbol RDDT on the New York Stock Exchange.

Investors are keeping a close eye on Reddit's IPO after the social media platform priced its initial public offering at $34 per share, valuing the company at roughly $6.4 billion.

The company's debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday has been highly anticipated, given the lull in public listings over the past two years. Reddit is the first major social media company to go public in five years.

The user-generated discussion-style platform has been around since 2005, but it gained increased recognition during the meme stock frenzy in 2021. At that time, retail traders on the subreddit WallStreetBets encouraged short squeezes on shares of video game retailer GameStop (GME), theater chain (AMC), and other heavily shorted stocks.

The IPO is expected to gauge investors’ appetite for tech-related offerings at a time when monetary policy is tight.

Read more here.

Apple (AAPL) shares sank nearly 3% after the Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against the iPhone maker.

The lawsuit accuses Apple of maintaining an illegal monopoly on smartphones by blocking competitors' access to hardware and software features on its devices.

An Apple statement released shortly after the suit was filed read, in part, "We believe this lawsuit is wrong on the facts and the law, and we will vigorously defend against it."

Apple (AAPL) shares sank 1.5% on Thursday amid an expected antitrust suit from the Justice Department against the iPhone maker.

The market anticipates law enforcement officials will call out Apple for allegedly using its hardware and software to block competitors from accessing features of its iPhone.

Apple shares are down about 5% year to date.

Stocks opened higher on Thursday, adding to Wednesday's market gains after the Federal Reserve hinted once again it will likely cut interest rates sometime this year.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.5%, solidly trading above the 5,200 level. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (^IXIC) moved up 0.9%.

Investors will pay close attention to Reddit's IPO on Thursday. The social media platform priced its shares at $34 each, valuing the company at about $6.4 billion.

The platform's debut on the New York Stock exchange has been highly anticipated, given the lull in public listings over the past two years. Reddit is the first major social media company to go public in five years.