US Markets
Wall Street's Equity Benchmarks Close Out May at Record Highs
US equity benchmarks reached new peaks on Friday, buoyed by a rally in technology stocks, while Wall Street logged its second consecutive monthly gains.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7% to 51,032.5, while the S&P 500 added 0.2% to 7,580.1. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.2% to 26,972.6. All three indexes notched back-to-back closing highs.Barring technology and financials, all sectors were in the red, led by consumer staples.Dell Technologies (DELL) shares surged nearly 33%, the best performer on the S&P 500. Late Thursday, the company reported record fiscal first-quarter results that surpassed Wall Street's estimates amid a surge in demand for artificial intelligence-optimized servers. It raised its fiscal 2027 outlook.Dell is in a "strong" position to continue to outperform amid the ongoing AI infrastructure buildout, Wedbush Securities said in a note.NetApp (NTAP) jumped 22% after announcing its quarterly results, the second-biggest gainer on the S&P 500.Other tech names that showed notable gains included IBM (IBM), which advanced nearly 13%, Salesforce (CRM), and Microsoft (MSFT).SentinelOne (S) shares slumped 8.3%. The cybersecurity company delivered a solid first-quarter performance that appears to be sustainable amid strong underlying trends, BofA Securities said in a Friday client note.The brokerage attributed the sell-off to the company's "conservative" guidance that raises questions around growth durability. But BofA views the pullback as an attractive entry point for investors, citing underlying momentum.This month, the Nasdaq gained 8.4%, the S&P 500 climbed 5.1%, and the Dow advanced 2.8%."Markets have largely decided to move on from the conflict with Iran," said Douglas Porter, chief economist at BMO Financial Group.West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 1% at $88.04 a barrel in Friday late-afternoon trade, while Brent fell 1.8% to $91.99. The benchmarks were on track for monthly declines following four consecutive monthly gains."The market has increasingly priced in a resolution (to the US-Iran conflict) this week," ING Bank said in a report Friday. "Therefore, any confirmation of a deal that reopens the strait means that significant further downside is likely limited, particularly during the early stages of a ceasefire."In a social media post Friday, US President Donald Trump said he was heading to the White House Situation Room "to make a final determination" regarding the Middle East conflict. He also announced an end to the naval blockade of Iranian ports.Trump said that Iran must permanently forgo capabilities that lead to nuclear weapon development and allow unrestricted shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.Axios reported Thursday that the US and Iran had agreed to a memorandum of understanding to extend a ceasefire between the countries and begin talks on Tehran's nuclear program. However, Trump hadn't signed off on the deal, according to the report.US Treasury yields were mixed in Friday late-afternoon trade, with the 10-year rate little changed at 4.44% and the two-year rate falling 2.3 basis points to 4.01%.A sharp jump in Treasury yields following the Middle East conflict is unlikely to dampen investor appetite for equities, given corporate earnings growth and excitement surrounding artificial intelligence, Wells Fargo Investment Institute said in a note.Two Federal Reserve officials offered mixed views on whether the oil price shock could be considered transitory, with Michelle Bowman in favor of looking through such developments and Jeffrey Schmid saying inflation is too hot to ignore.Gold was last up 0.9% at $4,574.50 per troy ounce, while silver fell 0.1% to $75.81 per ounce.
Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$CRM$DELL$IBM$MSFT$NTAP$S
