New York, May 21, 2026, 17:03 EDT
- The Dow closed up 276.31 points, or 0.55%, at 50,285.66 for a new record high.
- IBM surged 12.4% following a proposed U.S. quantum computing award, while Nvidia slipped even after posting strong results.
- Oil finished down, swinging during the day as traders followed U.S.-Iran talks and moves near the Strait of Hormuz.
Dow Jones ends at record, up 276 points as oil drops, investors eye Iran talks
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at a new all-time high Thursday, climbing 276.31 points, or 0.55%, to 50,285.66. S&P 500 gained 0.17% to 7,445.72 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.09% to 26,293.10. U.S. stocks turned higher late as oil prices dropped and investors watched developments in U.S.-Iran talks.
Oil’s early surge set a cautious mood to start the session after Reuters said Iran’s supreme leader stiffened his position on enriched uranium, at odds with a main U.S. request in talks. But crude pared gains as the day went on, which gave equities some breathing room late. Brent lost 2.3% to close at $102.58 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate dropped 1.9% to $96.35.
Dow edges up, but the move was thin and driven by headlines, not enthusiasm. Markets remain fixated on oil, bonds, and Middle East news. “Market attention is now back to Iran,” Jason Pride, chief of investment strategy and research at Glenmede, told Reuters, after earnings season has mostly wrapped. Reuters
IBM shares jumped 12.4% after the company and the U.S. Department of Commerce said they signed a letter of intent for Anderon, a quantum-chip foundry. The new facility is supported by a proposed $1 billion CHIPS award and matched by $1 billion from IBM. Quantum computing, which handles certain problems much faster than today’s machines, is still in early stages and challenging to scale.
IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said wafer production at the company will be “critical to enable a broader quantum technology landscape.” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the spending would boost U.S. quantum capability and bring in more high-paying jobs. IBM Newsroom
Quantum stocks gained after the government’s move. Reuters reported GlobalFoundries up 14.9%. D-Wave Quantum gained 33.4% and Rigetti Computing jumped 30.6%. Infleqtion added 31.5% as news broke of new federal support for quantum firms.
Tech stocks didn’t pull the market higher. Nvidia dropped 1.8% despite projecting higher quarterly revenue and announcing a share buyback plan worth $80 billion. Share repurchases are when companies use cash to buy their own shares, returning cash to investors. According to Reuters, some investors locked in gains and looked at rising competition from Intel and AMD.
Retail stocks slipped. Walmart fell 7.3% as it kept a cautious full-year forecast and pointed to high fuel prices hitting shoppers and its delivery business. That warning sent consumer staples down 1.6%. Casey’s General Stores and Costco dropped too.
Walmart’s CFO John David Rainey said if high costs stay in place, the retailer sees “somewhat higher retail price inflation” coming later this year. Rainey also noted the average fill-up at Walmart gas stations has dropped under 10 gallons for the first time since 2022—pointing to signs of pressure on wallets. Reuters
Fed officials saw little push to act fast after new data. Jobless claims dropped last week. The labor market is still holding up. U.S. manufacturing in May hit its highest level in four years, as companies stocked up to guard against disruptions and higher costs tied to the Iran war.
Stocks got a late push from headlines Thursday, but those headlines could swing back. Talks with Iran are still shaky, with Reuters saying uranium enrichment and Strait of Hormuz control are unresolved. If oil jumps again, it could hurt consumer spending, make inflation tough to tame, and dampen rate-cut bets.
Buyers pushed the Dow to a new closing high, though the overall market stayed steady. Advancers beat decliners on both the NYSE and Nasdaq. U.S. exchange volume came in at 17.67 billion shares, below the 20-day average of 18.57 billion.
