New York, May 28, 2026, 16:04 EDT
- The Dow edged down late in U.S. trading, lagging the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, which both moved higher.
- Word of a U.S.-Iran ceasefire extension gave risk appetite a lift, though gains were limited by hotter inflation prints and soft growth numbers.
- The Dow felt more pressure from drops in some higher-priced industrial stocks because of its price-weighted setup.
Dow edges lower than the wider market after the close Thursday. Investors picked up growth stocks, betting on movement toward a U.S.-Iran ceasefire, though they held back after new numbers pointed to rising inflation and softer growth.
Dow slips after record, S&P 500 and Nasdaq up
Reuters’ global markets update had the Dow off 38.37 points, or 0.08%, at 50,605.91. The S&P 500 edged up 0.58% to 7,563.81 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.89% to 26,915.98. This comes after the Dow ended at a record 50,644.28 Wednesday, when both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq also set fresh highs.
Thursday shaped up as a test for the rally, to see if it would keep spreading out past the AI names. The Dow tracks 30 major U.S. blue chips and is price-weighted, so a stock with a bigger share price can swing it more than lower-priced stocks. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are wider indexes with more tech names.
S&P 500 and Nasdaq bounced back after Reuters said the U.S.-Iran ceasefire might get extended, but it still needed President Donald Trump’s sign-off. Traders stayed nervous about inflation, said Jamie Cox of Harris Financial Group. “On a hair trigger,” Cox said. Reuters
Markets are swinging on “day-to-day volatility” from geopolitics, but growth signs are steady, said Bill Merz, head of Capital Market Research at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. “Growth-oriented assets continue to perform,” Merz said. Reuters
Macro numbers were messier. The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index climbed 3.8% in April from a year ago, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Core PCE, which leaves out food and energy, rose 3.3%, Reuters reported. That’s still above the Fed’s 2% target.
Growth missed some estimates. First-quarter U.S. gross domestic product was revised down to a 1.6% annualized rate, below the earlier 2.0%. Core capital goods orders dropped 1.1% in April, a sign of weaker business investment.
The data kept risk on the table. Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities, called it a “stagflation problem,” pointing to slow growth and higher prices. He said that pushed odds toward a Fed rate hike over a cut. Reuters
Stocks showed interest in company news. Shares of Eli Lilly climbed as CVS moved to restore coverage of Zepbound. Microsoft traded higher after a report said it planned a new coding model. Snowflake gained after it raised its annual product revenue outlook and announced a $6 billion AI infrastructure agreement with Amazon Web Services. Datadog and MongoDB followed Snowflake higher.
Dow stocks moved unevenly. Microsoft, IBM and Nike led gainers late in the session, Investing.com data showed. Caterpillar, Sherwin-Williams and Travelers were among the top losers on the Dow.
Markets are shrugging off geopolitical risks right now as “corporate earnings remain relatively resilient,” according to Jitania Kandhari, deputy CIO for solutions and multi-assets at Morgan Stanley Investment Management. Kandhari also noted that recent instability may drive up spending in cybersecurity, defense tech and energy infrastructure. Reuters
But there’s a clear risk. If the ceasefire talks fall apart or energy prices push higher, inflation could get stuck, sending bond yields up and putting more pressure on the Dow’s recent record streak. Olu Sonola, head of U.S. economics at Fitch Ratings, called the inflation trend “increasingly uncomfortable for the Fed.” Reuters
