You can call it a comeback. Stocks rocketed to record highs last week on hopes of a peace deal with Iran, with the S & P 500 closing above 7,100 for the first time and the Nasdaq completing its longest-winning stretch since 1992 — 13 days of gains. For the week, the broad-based S & P jumped 4% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 1.7%. It capped a rare and dramatic turnaround for the stocks. As Barclays strategist Venu Krishna pointed out in a note to clients, the S & P 500 went from near correction territory (down about 9% from its all-time peak) back to an all-time high in just 11 trading days. That’s the fastest move to record levels from a bottom of at least 9% since at least 1990, he said. That quick reversal was largely the result of investors pricing in an end to the Iran-U.S. conflict. But Wall Street was also digesting solid bank earnings and a comeback in the beat-up software sector. Peace signs The week started just as it had every Monday since the U.S. attacked Iran in late February: investors trying to figure out how the latest overseas developments could impact their portfolios. First, negotiations in Islamabad broke down over the weekend, prompting P …
