Wall Street kicked off May on a split note Thursday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite surging to fresh record closes while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged behind. The session was driven by a blowout earnings report from Apple and renewed optimism around easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East — a combination that sent tech stocks sharply higher and extended what has been a strong first-quarter earnings season.
What Moved Markets
The S&P 500 (SPI:SP500) rose 21.11 points, or 0.29%, to close at 7,230.12, notching a new all-time high. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 251.57 points, or 1.01%, to finish at 25,143.89 — also a record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average bucked the trend, slipping 152.87 points, or 0.31%, to settle at 49,499.27, weighed down by weakness in select industrial and healthcare names.
The divergence between the tech-heavy Nasdaq and the blue-chip Dow underscored what has become a familiar theme in 2026: mega-cap technology companies continue to drive index-level gains, fueled by blockbuster earnings and an artificial intelligence investment cycle that shows no signs of slowing. Capital expenditure commitments across the major cloud and AI players could approach $700 billion this year, reinforcing the market’s conviction that the AI buildout is still accelerating.
Notable Movers
Apple (AAPL) was the star of the day, jumping more than 3% after the company posted a fiscal second-quarter beat on both earnings and revenue. The results quieted concerns about slowing iPhone demand and highlighted growing services revenue, sending ripples of strength across the broader tech sector. Microsoft (MSFT) rose 2.0% in sympathy, while Oracle (ORCL) surged 7.1% as investors continued to reward companies tied to enterprise cloud and AI infrastructure spending.
Tesla (TSLA) gained 3.3%, riding the broader risk-on mood in growth names. Blue Owl Capital (OWL) was another standout, soaring roughly 9% after the alternative asset manager disclosed it had sold half of its SpaceX stake at a $1.25 trillion valuation, netting a tenfold return on its original investment — a headline that reinforced investor enthusiasm around private market opportunities ahead of SpaceX’s anticipated record-breaking IPO.
On the losing side, Roblox (RBLX) cratered nearly 17% after the online gaming platform slashed its full-year 2026 bookings guidance to a range of $7.33 billion to $7.60 billion, well below its prior forecast of $8.28 billion to $8.55 billion. Management attributed the shortfall to disruption from new age-verification requirements, which have slowed new-user growth and limited the viral discovery mechanisms that fuel the platform’s engagement. Multiple Wall Street firms, including BofA and BTIG, downgraded the stock or cut their price targets in response.
Caterpillar (CAT) drew positive attention after beating quarterly earnings expectations, with analysts highlighting booming demand for power generation equipment linked to AI data center construction and a record order backlog.
Looking Ahead
Investors now turn their attention to a heavy slate of economic data. Manufacturing figures are due shortly, and next week brings the April nonfarm payrolls report — a key input for the Federal Reserve’s rate-path deliberations. Geopolitical developments in the Middle East will also remain in focus after oil prices briefly touched $100 per barrel on Thursday amid fresh attacks on Gulf energy targets, a reminder that the macro backdrop still carries meaningful risk. For now, though, a resilient earnings season and the relentless AI spending cycle continue to provide a solid floor for equities.