NEW YORK, April 25 -- Major Wall Street indices closed at fresh records as markets cheered the latest batch of earnings reports and US and Iranian officials headed to Pakistan for expected peace talks.

Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq powered to all-time highs, bolstered in part by the market's euphoric response to results from Intel. The chip company surged 23.6 per cent.

Earnings strength "is a driver that is hard to ignore and is a key behind the market's resilience," said Angelo Kourkafas from Edward Jones.

Profit margin growth thus far for S&P 500 companies is 13.4 per cent for the first quarter year over year, according to an earnings insight note from Factset.

If that holds through to the end of quarter, it will be a record since th...