New York, May 11, 2026, 4:03 PM EDT
- The S&P 500 pushed to another all-time high, and the Nasdaq managed to notch a record close too, with chipmakers and AI stocks propping up both indexes.
- Oil remained the key risk, with Brent crude closing at $104.21 per barrel—up 2.9%—as fresh jitters over U.S.-Iran tensions resurfaced.
- The Dow barely budged, the index reflecting a market that’s still riding tech strength and chasing earnings growth.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq wrapped up Monday at new all-time highs, with investors pushing further into chip and AI stocks despite a jump in oil prices that stoked fresh inflation worries. The S&P 500 finished at 7,426.44 and the Nasdaq Composite clocked in at 26,256.13, market data showed.
This shift stands out—the rally isn’t just a bounce-back anymore. Stocks have climbed to several new highs, fueled by robust Q1 earnings and AI infrastructure demand. Now, though, crude topping $100 and incoming inflation data are throwing a new set of challenges at the market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged lower, dropping 2.54 points to close at 49,606.62, according to Yahoo Finance historical data. A negligible move—less than 0.1%—kept the blue-chip index little changed. Broader gains in the market, though, were fueled mostly by a handful of growth and chip stocks.
Chip stocks took the spotlight once more. Reuters noted a 2.5% surge in the PHLX Semiconductor index for the session. Intel picked up momentum after Friday’s rally, which followed word of a preliminary chip manufacturing deal with Apple. Qualcomm also broke out to a fresh record.
“The semis and AI infrastructure trade has taken on a life entirely of its own,” Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird, told Reuters. That summed up the session’s divide: appetite for AI-related suppliers stayed strong, while oil prices and geopolitical worries weighed on the broader market. Reuters
The S&P 500 found a lift from Nvidia and Micron, according to AP, as ongoing enthusiasm for artificial intelligence kept earnings outlooks buoyant. FactSet numbers, per AP, show a little over 80% of S&P 500 firms reporting so far topped profit forecasts, with aggregate growth running close to 28%.
Oil stayed in focus. Brent crude gained 2.9%, closing at $104.21 after President Donald Trump described the U.S.-Iran ceasefire as “life support” and dismissed Tehran’s latest offer to halt the war, according to AP. Tankers remain trapped in the Persian Gulf with the Strait of Hormuz effectively shut, sending crude prices up from about $70 and squeezing global markets. AP News
This week’s inflation numbers are up next. Investors have their eyes on the Consumer Price Index, which tracks what households pay, and the Producer Price Index, a snapshot of business input costs, both scrutinized for any evidence that pricier energy is leaking past just gasoline. Mayfield expects the rally “will probably consolidate from here a little bit” if the inflation data sparks some investors to lock in gains. Reuters
Market breadth looked fairly weak, with more Nasdaq stocks declining than rising—Reuters put decliners ahead of advancers by roughly 1.1-to-1. Airlines slumped as well. Southwest, Delta, Alaska Air, and United all traded lower, pressured by worries over rising fuel costs.
HSBC bumped up its S&P 500 year-end forecast to 7,650 from 7,500, pointing to solid earnings growth and ongoing momentum in the megacap tech names. But strategists there flagged that “sentiment is on shakier ground”—they see the rally as too narrowly focused. Reuters
After the bell, sentiment was anything but euphoric—mixed, if anything. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq reached fresh highs, yet that happened with oil flirting with crisis territory, the Dow treading water, breadth looking soft and inflation numbers looming, ready to challenge whether the AI-fueled rally can keep brushing off macro noise.
