NEW YORK, May 21, 2026, 17:03 (EDT)
Dow Jones finished at an all-time high Thursday, up 276.31 points, or 0.6%, to close at 50,285.66, as IBM surged. The broader market bounced back from morning declines as oil prices slipped. The S&P 500 was up 12.75 points, or 0.2%, to 7,445.72. Nasdaq Composite ended higher by 22.74 points, or 0.1%, at 26,293.10.
Oil has been steering the market more than earnings. Brent crude inched above $109 before sliding 2.3% to finish at $102.58. The drop took some pressure off fears that rising energy costs would stoke inflation and drive up bond yields. When yields climb, stocks can lose their shine.
Oil settled at $96.35 in U.S. trading, Reuters said. “Oil is down and below $100, and that’s a good thing,” said Adam Sarhan, chief executive at 50 Park Investments in New York. He noted investors were upbeat on stocks, even while markets kept tracking headlines on the Iran war and any signs of diplomatic moves. Reuters
IBM rallied 12.5% to $252.97 after the U.S. Commerce Department said it will give the company $1 billion to help launch Anderon, a new quantum-chip venture in New Albany, New York. IBM will also put up $1 billion. The chip foundry will produce chips, including for external buyers.
Quantum names moved higher after news of U.S. funding. Rigetti Computing surged 30.6%. IonQ added 12.3%. Reuters reported D-Wave, Rigetti, and Infleqtion will get around $100 million each from a $2 billion government plan. Quantum computing relies on qubits instead of regular bits, but the sector still has big technical issues like high error rates.
Nvidia dropped 1.8% to $219.51 despite reporting first-quarter revenue of $81.62 billion, beating profit forecasts, raising its second-quarter revenue outlook above estimates, and revealing an $80 billion buyback plan. Jacob Bourne, analyst at eMarketer, said Nvidia “delivered another beat.” Some investors are questioning how long the AI push will last, with Google, Amazon and AMD moving forward with their own chips. Reuters
Ralph Lauren jumped 13.9% on better profit and sales. Walmart dropped 7.3% after it guided profit lower. Airlines rallied as oil prices slipped—American Airlines added 4.9% and Southwest Airlines rose 2.7%, AP reported.
Fed still in focus as signals come in mixed. Initial jobless claims dropped 3,000 to 209,000 for the week ended May 16, coming in under the 210,000 that economists surveyed by Reuters had expected. Matthew Martin, senior U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, said the labor market still looks stable enough for the central bank to hold policy steady.
S&P Global’s flash U.S. manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index climbed to 55.3 in May, hitting the highest mark since May 2022. A reading over 50 means growth. The jump wasn’t all positive. Companies built up inventories to avoid shortages and higher prices linked to the war. Chris Williamson from S&P Global said the economy may have a hard time topping annualized second-quarter growth of 1%.
Thursday’s relief rally could unwind fast if the Iran conflict drags out. Oil prices may push higher, inflation could stay firm, and Treasury yields might move up. That scenario would pressure small caps first, but pricey AI stocks could also take a hit. Some investors are already questioning if heavy data center spending in the sector is outpacing profits.
Dow’s at a new high, and the S&P 500 is just under its own record heading into Friday. Now traders are watching if oil prices hold low, if Nvidia’s move after earnings drags on the AI group, and if IBM’s jump on quantum news sticks. U.S. markets are shut Monday for Memorial Day.
