New York, May 28, 2026, 16:03 (EDT)
Stocks ended mostly up on Thursday. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq pushed their record streaks longer as tech and healthcare shares drew buyers. Reports of possible progress on a U.S.-Iran truce lifted some sentiment. The Dow, though, fell and missed out on the gains, so the rally stayed split.
The S&P 500 added 43.45 points, up 0.58%, to finish at 7,563.81. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 241.24 points, or 0.89%, to 26,915.98. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 38.37 points, or 0.08%, to 50,605.91.
Wall Street opened under pressure, faced with higher-than-expected inflation numbers and new worries that Middle East fighting might keep energy prices up. Stocks turned higher after reports that Washington and Tehran would extend a ceasefire and start talks, pending sign-off from President Donald Trump.
Deal headlines are whipsawing markets, according to Jamie Cox, managing partner at Harris Financial Group. “Traders are on a hair trigger with the back-and-forth on deal news,” Cox told Reuters. He said the more difficult issue is if inflation will drop as quickly as traders expect. Reuters
Messy numbers in the latest economic report. The Bureau of Economic Analysis said the PCE price index, watched by the Fed, increased 3.8% in April compared to last year, after a 3.5% rise in March. Core PCE, stripping out food and energy, gained 3.3%.
U.S. growth came in lighter. Real gross domestic product grew at a 1.6% annualized pace in the first quarter, down from the earlier 2.0% call. The BEA cut its number on lower inventory building and softer consumer spending.
Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities, said it’s “a stagflation problem”—with slow growth and higher prices. That’s the sort of setup that could make the Fed’s next decision tougher, not easier. Reuters
Tech stocks led the tape again. Microsoft climbed after a report on new coding models out next week. Snowflake rallied, boosting its annual product-revenue outlook and announcing a five-year, $6 billion AI infrastructure deal with Amazon Web Services. AI, or artificial intelligence, is software that does work normally done by people.
Snowflake’s move pulled up other software names. Datadog and MongoDB each gained as investors took Snowflake’s results as a signal that demand for data and AI tools is still solid, not limited to just one company.
Healthcare was another positive. Eli Lilly moved higher when CVS Health announced plans to bring back coverage for Zepbound, Lilly’s weight-loss shot, and to include the company’s new obesity drug Foundayo. Dollar Tree and Best Buy both gained after upbeat forecasts, adding a more earnings-driven feel to the session outside of the big tech names.
Markets are shrugging off geopolitical risk, Jitania Kandhari, deputy chief investment officer for solutions and multi-asset at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, said, pointing to a “relatively resilient” global economy and steady corporate earnings. Instability could also drive faster spending on cybersecurity, defense tech, energy infrastructure and supply-chain resilience, she said. Reuters
Risks are still in play. Iran truce news could flip, oil could move up again, and inflation is already higher than what investors want. U.S. crude ended up 0.25% at $88.90 a barrel. Brent dropped 0.62% to $93.71. The 10-year Treasury yield was down at 4.455% after weak data and reports of a ceasefire.
Business spending was uneven. New orders for core capital goods, which signal company investment outside defense and aircraft, dropped 1.1% in April. That came after solid gains earlier this year. Spending on AI-related equipment stayed firm.
Salesforce was in focus for software names after hours. The company beat on the quarter, but its Q2 revenue guidance fell short. Valoir CEO Rebecca Wettemann said Salesforce faces key quarters ahead to prove out the value customers see in seat licenses and Agentforce AI.
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff called “Agentic AI” the company’s top growth opportunity. But shares barely moved, as investors looked for stronger evidence. Right now, the focus in the market is on earnings that are turning up in the numbers. investopedia.com
