S&P 500 and Nasdaq notch records as AI chip stocks surge

S&P 500 and Nasdaq notch records as AI chip stocks surge

By Noel Randewich and Utkarsh Hathi

Tue May 5, 2026  

With the White House reporting that the ceasefire with Iran is holding, yesterday’s concerns over who controls the Strait of Hormuz evaporated and all focus went back to Q1 which continues solid. Thus, it was a straight shot up on all the indexes with handsome 3-digit gains all around. Both tech indexes once again posted record highs and the S&P is poised for 28% in earnings growth, the highest quarterly growth in five years.  

S&P 500 falls from record high on Middle East worries

S&P 500 falls from record high on Middle East worries

By Noel Randewich and Niket Nishant

Mon May 4, 2026  

Two violent incidents in the Strait of Hormuz – a South Korean ship attacked while attempting entry and a U.S. Navy vessel forced by the Iranians to turn back – demonstrated loudly that Iran was still in complete control of the vital strait. This decisively shifted sentiment back towards the war, which investors have been trying to ignore, and all three indexes fell sharply, especially the Dow with a big 3-digit loss.  

S&P 500, Nasdaq end higher, notch weekly gains after earnings-heavy week

S&P 500, Nasdaq end higher, notch weekly gains after earnings-heavy week

By Stephen Culp and Niket Nishant

Fri May 1, 2026  

Q1 earnings reports, particularly in the tech sector, continued to come in strong on Friday, bolstering continuing confidence in AI as more companies begin claiming their huge AI investments are starting to pay off. As is usually the case, when tech gets exciting, money is taken from the safety of industrials so the Dow had a modestly down day while the S&P and Nasdaq took off. After ending a record-breaking month yesterday (the biggest in years), both the tech indexes registered a record-breaking week today with both hitting now six consecutive weekly advances, the longest winning streak in 1-1/2 years.  

Wall Street ends higher, S&P 500, Nasdaq notch biggest monthly gains in years

Wall Street ends higher, S&P 500, Nasdaq notch biggest monthly gains in years

By Stephen Culp and Niket Nishant

Thu April 30, 2026  

I noted yesterday that there may be more of a rally today as four of the behemoth Mag7 companies turned in their Q1 after the bell. Well, we had no idea. It was an enormous rally that sent all three indexes way up with tech hitting its biggest monthly gains in six years and industrials scoring their biggest monthly advance in 1-1/2 years. Despite the poor war news, investors are ignoring that dark cloud and focusing fully on the Q1 reporting looking for desperate signs that the enormous AI spending is positioned to pay off.  

Wall Street ends mixed ahead of big tech earnings

Wall Street ends mixed ahead of big tech earnings

By Stephen Culp and Niket Nishant

Wed April 29, 2026  

I wouldn’t call Wall Street “mixed” today but rather wildly gyrating between big losses on all three indexes (the Dow down over 400, the Nasdaq over 160) and a sudden late session surge in tech that brought both indexes to break-even. Spiking crude prices as well as overall uncertainty with Iran sent everything spiraling down in the morning. Then the modestly good news came that Trump was talking to oil producers like Chevron about how to stablize gas prices while new orders for capital goods jumped 3.3%, the largest increase in nearly six years.  

Nasdaq, S&P 500 end lower on renewed AI growth worries ahead of big tech earnings

Nasdaq, S&P 500 end lower on renewed AI growth worries ahead of big tech earnings

By Stephen Culp and Niket Nishant

Tue April 28, 2026  

After only two days, concerns about the potential profitability of AI is back on the front page again with signs of weakening coming from OpenAI and its chief user Oracle. Whereas before the Dow was taking a big hit while tech soared, today tech took a major dump while the Dow, while not exactly soaring, did spend most of the day in the black gaining well over 200 at its height and then closing nearly flat. It appears that AI has taken bets off the table awaiting the reports from the major AI contributors later this week.  

S&P 500, Nasdaq, close slightly higher in cautious start to a heavy earnings week

S&P 500, Nasdaq, close slightly higher in cautious start to a heavy earnings week

By Stephen Culp and Niket Nishant

Mon April 27, 2026  

There isn’t a whole lot of agreement on sentiment right now with the markets going in all different directions given the plethora of news coming this week. All the indexes opened in the red posting 3-digit losses until about 1 pm. Then everything but the Dow went into the black for the two tech indexes to close marginally higher but any plus meant a new record. The S&P in fact is now at a record high equivalent to doubling its value in the last 3-1/2 years. The question is if earnings will justify all these new records. So far, so good, with 28% of S&P companies reporting and 81% beating estimates.