NEW YORK, May 27, 2026, 20:01 EDT
- The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq set record closes, while index-tracking ETFs turned mixed in late after-hours trading.
- Snowflake jumped after hours as it raised its outlook and landed a $6 billion AWS agreement. Salesforce fell after issuing a lighter revenue forecast.
- Oil bounced back as new U.S.-Iran tensions flared, keeping inflation and interest-rate worries in the mix.
Wall Street’s record streak hit some hesitation after hours Wednesday. Investors looked at uneven software earnings and a chip sector that slipped, while oil prices bounced late following new Middle East tensions.
Dow Jones closed at a fresh high, adding 182.60 points, or 0.36%, to reach 50,644.28. The S&P 500 finished up 1.24 points, or 0.02%, at 7,520.36. The Nasdaq was up 18.55 points, or 0.07%, closing at 26,674.74. All three benchmarks ended at record levels.
Why it matters now: U.S. stocks are trading at tight levels with little room for mistakes, while traders look ahead to Thursday’s PCE inflation data, a key gauge for the Federal Reserve. The close hinted investors will still step in to buy dips, but they are showing less appetite to pay up for the main artificial-intelligence stocks.
ETFs tracking the major indexes traded without clear direction late. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust held at $750.46. The Invesco QQQ Trust slipped to $729.45. The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust was higher at $506.88 near the end of the session.
“After such a large run-up, a little bit of a pause was not surprising,” Sean Clark, chief investment officer at Clark Capital Management Group, told Reuters. Clark said the “broad market is participating,” pointing to a wider move that could settle nerves about gains only coming from tech. Reuters
The Dow found support from broad gains. Procter & Gamble added 3.2%, UnitedHealth was up 1.9%. The S&P consumer discretionary index climbed 1.9%. The energy index lost 1.5% with oil down during the U.S. session.
AI stocks fell back. Qualcomm fell 6%, Marvell Technology dropped 4.6%, Intel was down 1.4%, and Nvidia lost 1%, with the Philadelphia semiconductor index down 1.4% after Tuesday’s record. Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist at LPL Financial, told Reuters tech leadership was obvious but said the “near-term durability” of the rally was in doubt. Reuters
Snowflake lifted its fiscal 2027 product revenue forecast to $5.84 billion after the close and announced a five-year, $6 billion pact with Amazon Web Services focused on AI infrastructure, according to Reuters. Its stock jumped in postmarket trade. Gil Luria, managing director at D.A. Davidson, said the deal with Amazon “adds another element” to Snowflake’s growth story. Reuters
Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy said strength is coming from the company’s data platform and that it’s seeing “meaningful uplift from AI capabilities.” Snowflake’s statement noted its AWS deal involves a $6 billion, five-year infrastructure commitment, pointing to demand for data and AI work. Reuters
Salesforce slipped. The company put out a second-quarter revenue forecast between $11.27 billion and $11.35 billion, short of the analyst consensus at $11.36 billion. First-quarter revenue and profit beat forecasts. “The next few quarters will be critical,” Valoir CEO Rebecca Wettemann said, pointing to Salesforce proving value from core licenses and its Agentforce AI product. Reuters
Salesforce reported first-quarter revenue up 13% to $11.1 billion, with non-GAAP EPS up 50% to $3.88. CEO Marc Benioff said it was an “outstanding quarter.” The company said Agentforce’s annual recurring revenue is now above $1 billion. Salesforce Investor Relations
The market’s record finish leans on a handful of assumptions: earnings hold up, inflation doesn’t flare up again, and the Fed stays on course. U.S. crude futures added over $1 to top $90 a barrel after new U.S. military strikes hit an Iranian site, according to Reuters. It’s a sign that energy prices can jump back into the inflation debate in a hurry.
S&P 500 strategists are sticking with the rally call. A Reuters poll of 47 forecasters gives the S&P 500 a year-end target of 7,620, just a bit above where it trades now. Anthony Saglimbene at Ameriprise talked about “strong AI secular tailwinds”, but also flagged pressure from higher energy prices, rising rates and stubborn inflation. That sums up the market now: record highs, but little room for disappointment. Reuters
