New York, May 5, 2026, 11:11 EDT
U.S. equities bounced higher Tuesday, with tech stocks propelling the Nasdaq out front after a pullback in oil prices lured buyers back to chipmakers and the big names in tech. As of 10:01 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.51%, the S&P 500 had gained 0.67%, and the Nasdaq Composite posted a 0.83% advance. Intel was in focus, rising after Bloomberg News said Apple had held preliminary talks with both Intel and Samsung about main processor manufacturing, according to Reuters.
The rebound stands out, coming right after an April surge that had already pushed Wall Street to new highs. According to the Financial Times, U.S. stocks just wrapped up their strongest month since 2020, ending at record levels as investors wagered that AI spending would overshadow any risks related to the Middle East conflict.
Now, the focus turns to earnings and whether they keep carrying the load. According to Reuters, citing LSEG data, first-quarter earnings growth for the S&P 500 is expected to surpass 18%. Jeff Buchbinder, chief equity strategist at LPL Financial, said “AI-driven spending will likely continue to do the heavy lifting” for earnings growth. Reuters
Intel surged 14.4% to $109.59 late in the morning session, pulling ahead of its peers. Micron jumped 10.6%, trading at $637.80. Market data also showed Alphabet tacking on 1.2%, SanDisk climbing 9.3%, and AMD gaining 2.7%.
The Nasdaq’s gains weren’t pinned to a single stock. According to a 24/7 Wall St. report, Alphabet, Intel, Microsoft, and Micron all chipped in, with Micron crossing $600. Falling crude prices also offered some relief to tech names sensitive to interest rates, since their lofty valuations hinge on future earnings.
SanDisk kept storage chips in focus this quarter. Revenue for its fiscal third quarter soared 251% from a year earlier, hitting $5.95 billion, while datacenter sales surged 645%. The company now sees fourth-quarter revenue landing between $7.75 billion and $8.25 billion. CEO David Goeckeler described the period as a “fundamental inflection point,” highlighting SanDisk’s pivot toward higher-value datacenter markets. Sandisk Corporation
The implications go beyond just SanDisk. According to Reuters, the company echoed Western Digital and Seagate in highlighting robust enterprise appetite for storage products powering AI data centers. Still, Michael Ashley Schulman at Cerity Partners flagged that these outlooks aren’t offering enough of a standout catalyst to keep the rapid pace going.
Tuesday’s jump traced back to April’s momentum. Stephen Guilfoyle at TheStreet Pro pointed out the S&P 500 tacked on 10.4% in April, with the Nasdaq Composite up 15.3%. Tech names ran hot: the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund advanced 20%. Chipmakers led, as the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) soared 38.4%. Standouts included Intel, SanDisk, Marvell, ON Semiconductor and AMD, all racking up hefty gains for the month.
The rally remains narrow. AMD is set to report after the bell; those results should give a read on whether AI hardware demand is spreading past the top chip and memory players. PayPal and Palantir—along with other high-multiple names—have already demonstrated that even a beat on earnings won’t always cut it if the growth mix or outlook misses the mark.
BlackRock Investment Institute flagged the real risk: it’s not in the earnings numbers. The team’s pro-risk outlook hangs on the Strait of Hormuz reopening soon. “Even U.S. equities won’t be insulated” if the shipping artery stays blocked, BlackRock said, warning that a prolonged oil surge would deal a blow to the U.S. economy. BlackRock
Traders, for the moment, seem to be backing the view that AI investment, chip demand, and improving profits are robust enough to handle pricier oil and any geopolitical jolts. Not an easy ask. Still, with Tuesday’s bounce, the market is clearly game to give it a shot.
