New York, June 2, 2026, 16:04 EDT
U.S. stocks finished Tuesday little changed. The Dow picked up 149.01 points, or 0.29%, to 51,227.89. The S&P 500 was up 4.85 points, or 0.06%, at 7,604.81. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 13.96 points, or 0.05%, closing at 27,072.85. Buyers stuck with AI names, while companies with high spending needs and Middle East risk got less support. Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder, said it was “a mixed market today.” Reuters
AI excitement has been the main driver for markets, but attention is turning to who will pay for the data centers, servers and power behind it. Artificial intelligence, or AI, has pushed major indexes to records with its software and chip advances, but funding for the infrastructure is becoming a key question. “AI is in some cases, the only thing that’s working,” wrote John Belton, portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds, who said he wants more portfolio balance. Investopedia
Hewlett Packard Enterprise reported a 40% jump in quarterly revenue to $10.7 billion, with Cloud & AI segment up 22.9%. CEO Antonio Neri called it “healthy demand across the business.” The results covered the quarter ended April 30. Hewlett Packard Enterprise
HPE is up against Dell and Super Micro Computer in the enterprise server space, with Reuters putting this year’s Big Tech AI spend at roughly $700 billion. Morgan Stanley analysts noted HPE is seeing customers accept higher server prices, with “little evidence of demand destruction.” Reuters
Alphabet is headed in the opposite direction. Google’s parent said it wants to raise $80 billion by selling stock, with $10 billion of that coming from Berkshire Hathaway, to pay for AI infrastructure. Alphabet said it can’t keep up with demand for its AI services. Steven Check, president and chief investment officer at Check Capital Management, said Berkshire is the “kind of shareholder that companies like to have.” Reuters
Shares dropped after the stock sale, with capital expenditures on the rise as AI pushes companies to spend more on things like data centers and hardware. Alphabet earlier bumped up its 2026 capex forecast to $180 billion-$190 billion. The stock dropped, even with Marvell Technology rallying after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang talked up Marvell’s part in AI data-center networking.
Stocks avoided bigger losses on economic data, but the move was limited. The Labor Department’s JOLTS report showed job openings at 7.6 million in April, up from earlier. Hires dropped to 5.1 million and total separations slipped to 5.0 million.
The risk hasn’t gone away. Matthew Martin, senior U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, said “the labor market remains mostly stable,” but flagged that rising oil prices from the Iran war could eat into incomes and push firms to slow hiring. Reuters polled economists who see Friday’s May payrolls report showing 85,000 new jobs and jobless rate stuck at 4.3%. Reuters
Oil stuck investors with more inflation risk. Brent crude climbed 1.1% to $96.00 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude added 1.7% to finish at $93.76. Iran was said to be reviewing a U.S. proposal to stop the conflict while shipping through the Strait of Hormuz stayed mostly frozen; Ritterbusch and Associates said a full reopening “doesn’t appear much closer.” Reuters
Market action didn’t point to a big risk-off move. On the New York Stock Exchange, more stocks rose than fell, and small-caps did better than large-caps, pointing to some continued investor appetite outside big tech. But on Nasdaq, losers outnumbered gainers, hinting at a more mixed mood below the surface.
Next session, the market faces a tight setup. Growth needs to be solid to back earnings, but too much strength, especially with oil, could stoke worries about inflation and rate hikes. AI demand remains steady for now. The spending from it is harder to overlook.
