Wall Street ends mixed as investors focus on tech earnings

Wall Street ends mixed as investors focus on tech earnings

By Sinéad Carew and Noel Randewich

Mon July 27, 2026  

Both the S&P and Nasdaq closed near flat as the rotation from tech to industrials continued seeing the Dow add a respectable 262 points. Talk of resumed peace negotiations were the plus side to the day’s dynamics but continuing attacks created the downside. But really, it’s just a bunch of fence-sitting as investors await a slew of major Q2 reports later this week, not to mention the Fed report on Wednesday as well as PCE coming Thursday.  

Nasdaq lags on angst over AI spending ahead of earnings reports

Nasdaq lags on angst over AI spending ahead of earnings reports

By Sinéad Carew and Ragini Mathur

Fri July 24, 2026  

Big rally until 12:30, then it all came tumbling down with the S&P closing flat and the Nasdaq into 3-digit negatives again. The Dow did much better advancing 400 points before falling but still closed up 235. The slump in tech came from still another day of investors fearful of the enormous AI spending. The fear of missing out was overwhelmed today by the fear of massive overbuilding. The Dow was boosted by falling oil prices triggered by China planning to intervene in the peace talks and get Iran back to the table, all this despite the war’s massive escalation.  

Wall St falls as tech earnings spark AI spending worries and oil hits $100

Wall St falls as tech earnings spark AI spending worries and oil hits $100

By Sinéad Carew and Ragini Mathur

Thu July 23, 2026  

Today was the perfect trifecta after disappointing Q2 from both Tesla and Alphabet drove all three indexes straight down from the open raising more concerns above AI spending and overvaluations in tech. Then there was oil hitting the magic 100, the benchmark that causes panic to set in about inflation. The war itself and all its escalations was the third part of the day’s troubles.  

Wall Street indexes dip with technology earnings, rising oil in focus

Wall Street indexes dip with technology earnings, rising oil in focus

By Sinéad Carew and Ragini Mathur

Wed July 22, 2026  

Mixed results from tech stocks today triggered concerns about the direction they’re heading and led the Nasdaq down considerably though all the indexes did well in the morning. The Dow was up over 200 at 1 pm and the S&P up over 15, the Nasdaq having started the day seriously in the red but then zoomed back at 11 a.m. to break-even by noon only to start tumbling at 1 pm like the others. Despite the positive morning, all closed modestly in the red except the Nasdaq which closed down a more serious 3-digits.  

Wall St ends higher on chip stocks recovery; earnings draw focus

Wall St ends higher on chip stocks recovery; earnings draw focus

By Sinéad Carew and Ragini Mathur

Tue July 21, 2026  

With the recent beating that chip stocks have taken in recent days, today appeared to be the day for all the bargain hunters to come out of the woodwork, pushing all three indexes straight up and way up into significant 3-digit gains. The escalating war took very much a backseat as investors await more AI Q2 earnings, pushing the stocks way up ahead of the actual reporting on the fears that they might miss out.  

Wall Street indexes fall, with Iran and earnings season in focus

Wall Street indexes fall, with Iran and earnings season in focus

By Sinéad Carew and Ragini Mathur

Mon July 20, 2026  

The war rages on and now Yemen is threatening to open still another major front in the conflict which could add even more impact to global oil supplies. All three indexes thus took another dive with the Nasdaq and S&P spending most of the day in the black before closing very modestly down, all on the hope that an overture today from Iran to bring about de-escalation and another cease fire could well work out.  

Wall St ends lower for the day and week as chip selloff broadens

Wall St ends lower for the day and week as chip selloff broadens

By Stephen Culp and Ragini Mathur

Fri July 17, 2026  

Another severe down day for tech, which is probably a healthy thing as it is cooling down a market that was widely feared to be way overheated. As today’s expert put it, “The market has chip fatigue. Those stocks got way ahead of themselves and now they’re coming back to Earth.” Tech was down from open but the Dow actually started the day about 60 points in the black around 45 minutes after open, but was almost 600 points down at open but zoomed up to break-even within half an hour before falling off the cliff again with a gradual decline all afternoon that still led to a 3-digit loss at close. Tech’s fall from grace was understandable but the Dow’s decline is more of a mystery, especially given how strong Q2 has been so far.  

Wall Street ends lower as chip weakness offsets solid earnings, economic data

Wall Street ends lower as chip weakness offsets solid earnings, economic data

By Stephen Culp and Ragini Mathur

Thu July 16, 2026  

After four out of five straight sessions of gains, tech took another substantial dive today. You might call it profit-taking, you might call it more jitters over extended fighting in the war that has basically now nullified the truce. The Dow, boosted by a strong Q2 from United Health, had less dramatic losses.  But today all the good economic news, of which there was a good amount, and all the good Q2 was not quite enough to avoid the dive in tech.  

Wall St ends higher on cool inflation data, strong earnings

Wall St ends higher on cool inflation data, strong earnings

By Stephen Culp and Ragini Mathur

Wed July 15, 2026  

PPI came in today confirming yesterday’s CPI that inflation is slowing down. That combined with a second day of strong Q2 reporting and the market went on another buying spree (though something very strange happened right about 11:30 that brought all three indexes crashing down into minor losses after a morning of nice gains, but quickly recovered, no explanation given.)  

S&P 500 and Nasdaq end higher on cool inflation data, solid bank earnings

S&P 500 and Nasdaq end higher on cool inflation data, solid bank earnings

By Stephen Culp and Avinash P

Tue July 14, 2026  

The big banks came in today with boffo Q2 reports which oddly enough lifted tech but not so much the Dow. All three indexes closed with gains although the Dow just barely so after spending most of the day in the red. CPI also came with the good news that inflation seems to be calming with hopes now that inflation will continue to come down and thus there will be no need for a rate hike later this year. Of course, any good news on inflation is good for tech.  

Wall Street ends lower as Iran tensions dampen risk appetite; chipmakers drop

Wall Street ends lower as Iran tensions dampen risk appetite; chipmakers drop

By Stephen Culp and Ragini Mathur

Mon July 13, 2026  

The war has ramped up and consequently the markets have ramped down, all three indexes on a continuous downward spiral all day closing with 3-digit losses, the Nasdaq particularly hard hit closing down 408. The Dow suffered a little less due to oil spiking again, today up 9.4%, on account of further restricted traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. As today’s expert put it, “If the market were cheap, it’d be one thing. Now there’s less cushion and there continues to be a lot of unknowns.”  

Wall Street climbs, oil slides as investors bet on AI growth over Middle East tensions

Wall Street climbs, oil slides as investors bet on AI growth over Middle East tensions

By Pete Schroeder

Fri July 10, 2026  

For a second day, Wall Street is ignoring Middle East tensions and focusing again on AI and that drove tech mildly upward all day and the Dow even more into a low 3-digit gain. Oil prices came down a bit as investors eye the continuing attacks but may still be holding out optimism for the negotiations. Per the CBOE, a mere 14.9 billion shares traded hands, even more way below the 23.0 billion average than before, indicating that investors are on the fence waiting to see what happens next. 

Stocks climb, oil slides as tech hopes outlast Middle East worries

Stocks climb, oil slides as tech hopes outlast Middle East worries

By Pete Schroeder

Thu July 9, 2026  

Yesterday’s negative war news with new strikes on Iran drove the whole tech sector down. Today, even despite a second day of strikes and Iran retaliation, the market decided to disregard the war and return to the love affair with AI, bolstering both the S&P and Nasdaq into a daylong and quite fruitful rally. Nvidia was riding high on the second day after being allowed to sell its chips to Chinese companies. Yesterday, this news sent the chip index up 2.4%, today an additional 3%.  

S&P 500 ends down after Trump says Iran deal is 'over'

S&P 500 ends down after Trump says Iran deal is 'over'

By Noel Randewich

Wed July 8, 2026 

The bad war news today (or should I say peace news) brought all the indexes down except the Nasdaq which, though sunk by almost 300 by noon, had an afternoon comeback that got it modestly into the black. The same thing happened to the S&P though the comeback there still kept it modestly in the red. The Dow was down almost 900 by noon but with a much more modest recovery that still left it well into the red. What pushed tech back up was an Apple announcement that it was buying $30B of chips from Broadcom to put in the 2.5B Apple devices people use globally.  

Nasdaq sinks as AI worries hit chipmakers

Nasdaq sinks as AI worries hit chipmakers

By Noel Randewich and Shashwat Chauhan

Tue July 7, 2026  

AI nerves were back today big time with Micron and other chipmakers falling due to continuing doubts about AI’s sustainability. Even Samsung with today’s blowout earnings report was unfortunately not enough of a blowout to satisfy investors whose expectations were through the roof.  As today’s expert put it, “Expectations have gotten to be almost impossible to beat …”  

S&P 500, Nasdaq close sharply higher as Broadcom rallies

S&P 500, Nasdaq close sharply higher as Broadcom rallies

By Noel Randewich and Ragini Mathur

Mon July 6, 2026  

AI exuberance is back after last week’s setbacks and it sent all three indexes straight up with 3-digit gains on both the Dow and Nasdaq and the S&P also up an impressive 54 points. This was all triggered by strong expectations of a blossoming Q2 earnings season which starts shortly combined with expectations that this boom will continue through the rest of the year. The chip index was up 2.2% after last week’s slump.  

Nasdaq ends lower with tech; investors assess softer jobs data

Nasdaq ends lower with tech; investors assess softer jobs data

By Caroline Valetkevitch and Niket Nishant

Thu July 2, 2026  

It was a second day of sharp declines in tech, today being written off as profit-taking after such a long run of gains. Only about half the number of expected new jobs materialized which was greeted as good news on inflation and a possible stay of execution on the Fed raising rates. Odds of a rate hike decreased from 64 to 55%.  

Wall Street ends choppy session lower as tech shares drop

Wall Street ends choppy session lower as tech shares drop

By Caroline Valetkevitch and Niket Nishant

Wed July 1, 2026  

Investors chose to return to caution again today with all three indexes starting the session in the red, the Nasdaq deeply so, but then rising into the black until about noon when they began to decline and all closing modestly in the red. The concerns over the war and AI expenses reared their ugly head again and brought the Nasdaq way down until Meta saved the day momentarily with an 8.8% gain.  

S&P 500, Nasdaq register best quarter since 2020 despite Iran war

S&P 500, Nasdaq register best quarter since 2020 despite Iran war

By Caroline Valetkevitch and Niket Nishant

Tue June 30, 2026  

Q2 has ended with a bang as the Nasdaq and S&P both came in with the best quarter in six years despite all the geopolitical uncertainties. Though tech once again was the leader, even the Dow scored its 2^nd record high in two days. The chip index gained 3.9% though concerns over still too lofty valuations and too big capex has today’s expert recommending investors rotate to value sectors such as energy and financials.  

Wall Street ends higher as US, Iran attacks ease; major tech-related shares jump

Wall Street ends higher as US, Iran attacks ease; major tech-related shares jump

By Caroline Valetkevitch and Niket Nishant

Mon June 29, 2026  

It’s the same old story that’s been going on since the beginning of the war. Hostilities erupt, the market comes down. Hostilities ease and it goes up. That’s what happened today with the concerns about the fragile peace talks being jeopardized by weekend strikes but with the strikes easing today, everything took off like hotcakes, both industrials and tech enjoying very substantial 3-digit gains.  

S&P 500 ends lower; chips tumble and Moderna rallies

S&P 500 ends lower; chips tumble and Moderna rallies

By Noel Randewich and Joel Jose

Fri June 26, 2026  

It was a pretty mellow day with all three indexes staying relatively close to flat after the volatility of the past few sessions, though both the Dow and Nasdaq showed moderate 3-digit gains by noon before declining to modest losses by close. Today’s expert summed it up, “It’s too early to conclude that there’s a major correction brewing in tech, but what I would say is that the questions around profitability and the capex story are certainly not going away.”  

Wall St ends mixed as tech megacap declines outweigh upbeat chip outlook

Wall St ends mixed as tech megacap declines outweigh upbeat chip outlook

By Abigail Summerville, Twesha Dikshit and Joel Jose

Thu June 25, 2026  

Micron came in with a boffo report and as I noted yesterday, that doesn’t necessarily equate to another rally as other factors could come into play. That is in fact exactly what happened today. Fears of AI companies overspending took priority over both Micron and Qualcomm turning in good reports. In fact, investors are now looking at it as a zero-sum game. That is, any revenues and profits the winners are making have to be coming out of other companies’ hides. Both the S&P and Nasdaq spent much of the day in the red with the Nasdaq dipping to a 3-digit loss and the S&P closing just barely even.  

Nasdaq, S&P end lower as tech stocks fall

Nasdaq, S&P end lower as tech stocks fall

By Abigail Summerville, Twesha Dikshit and Joel Jose

Wed June 24, 2026  

Continuing concerns over AI companies running too hot caused tech once again to go into a bit of a slump, though the day started quite positive with both the S&P and Nasdaq well into the black, the latter up over 250 at noon before beginning its decline. And again, tech’s losses were industrial’s gains with the Dow up almost 600 by 11:30 before beginning its decline but still closing well in the black. Are these companies overvalued? Are they taking on too much debt to finance their AI plans?  

Wall Street ends lower on semiconductor selloff as AI spending concerns mount

Wall Street ends lower on semiconductor selloff as AI spending concerns mount

By Abigail Summerville, Twesha Dikshit and Joel Jose

Tue June 23, 2026  

AI jitters continued into a second day with investors concerned about too much debt propping up too much capital expenditures for AI expansion and will these companies be able to recoup these huge outlays. These jitters were aggravated by Elon Musk turning to the bond market for even more capital. Also impacting the jitters was sentiment that the Fed may actually do two rate increases this year and thus this very interest-sensitive sector is bracing for bad news ahead.  

S&P 500, Nasdaq close lower, dragged by Alphabet and megacap tech; focus on Iran

S&P 500, Nasdaq close lower, dragged by Alphabet and megacap tech; focus on Iran

By Abigail Summerville, Twesha Dikshit and Joel Jose

Mon June 22, 2026  

AI profitability jitters rattled the tech sector again today dropping both the S&P and Nasdaq like rocks from the outset with funds flowing back into industrials as the Dow rose 3-digits again. The markets continue to evaluate the very up and down Iran negotiations. The next test for tech comes Wednesday with Micron’s quarterly report, which is up 300% so far this year.  

Wall St indexes advance with boost from chips, Iran optimism

Wall St indexes advance with boost from chips, Iran optimism

By Sinéad Carew and Twesha Dikshit

Thu June 18, 2026  

Today’s signing of the interim peace agreement and 60-day ceasefire plus the first ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz was very good news on the inflation front and the inflation-dependent tech sectors. As oil prices tumbled, both the S&P and Nasdaq shot straight up from the open, the Nasdaq up nearly 500, while there was a flight from the Dow with monies flowing back to tech though even the Dow still closed in positive territory.  

Wall Street sinks on bets Fed will hike rates this year

Wall Street sinks on bets Fed will hike rates this year

By Sinéad Carew and Sruthi Shankar

Wed June 17, 2026  

It’s amazing how powerful silence can be for, even though our new Fed chair Kevin Warsh said nothing about the policy path of interest rates, the fact that he did not mention a timetable for a rate hike was more than enough to send all three indexes spiraling down like rocks right at 2 pm. What was said was that policy would focus on price stability which could generally mean a hike to water down inflation.

Nasdaq and S&P 500 slip while Dow hits record high

Nasdaq and S&P 500 slip while Dow hits record high

By Sinéad Carew and Sruthi Shankar

Tue June 16, 2026  

It was a day for tech to take a breather after yesterday’s enormous rally with tech coming down a massive 5.7% and while investors continue to digest the war and peace news, falling oil prices and rising financials pushed the Dow into a second day of records. All eyes will be on Fed comments tomorrow as Kevin Warsh as the new chair will report on whether rising oil prices continue to bleed into other sectors as they showed in May.  

Wall Street rallies, Dow ends with record on US-Iran deal, oil price slide

Wall Street rallies, Dow ends with record on US-Iran deal, oil price slide

By Sinéad Carew and Twesha Dikshit

Mon June 15, 2026  

The weekend news of a peace accord to be signed this Friday in Geneva (but details not yet forthcoming) was quite predictably greeted with great aplomb as all three indexes skyrocketed from the open and stayed there all day, all three with very substantial 3-digit gains. The Dow hit a new record. The key of course for tech is the promised reopening of the Strait of Hormuz which controls the flow of oil and with oil controlling inflation and inflation controlling tech, the whole sector zoomed even more.  

Wall Street ends up on Iran war peace deal hopes, SpaceX's historic debut

Wall Street ends up on Iran war peace deal hopes, SpaceX's historic debut

By Caroline Valetkevitch and Johann M Cherian

Fri June 12, 2026  

Third party sources saying that a peace deal was near bolstered the markets even though, as predicted, today’s SpaceX IPO made trading very choppy as the company was transformed into a $2T valuation. In fact, the huge IPO, the largest in fact in history, put the all too familiar rhetoric of peace in a few days on the back burner even though there was more positive sentiment today.  

Wall Street indexes jump, Trump says strikes against Iran canceled

Wall Street indexes jump, Trump says strikes against Iran canceled

By Caroline Valetkevitch and Joel Jose

Thu June 11, 2026  

With all the recent war news leaving nerves so frazzled, the indexes were playing things quite close to the vest until exactly 1:30 pm when there was a sudden and dramatic jump way up and stayed there the rest of the session. It must have been right then that Trump made the announcement to cancel the attack plans on Iran which were only hours away. The indexes recouped all of yesterday’s massive losses even if, as today’s expert put it, the metrics still show an oversold market.  

Wall Street indexes fall more than 1%, hit by tech, Iran war worries

Wall Street indexes fall more than 1%, hit by tech, Iran war worries

By Caroline Valetkevitch and Joel Jose

Wed June 10, 2026

The rout continues. With the greatest increase in recent military strikes in two months of the war (and more promised), uncertainty is the name of the game as more investors take more tech profits bringing the sector down 11% from the June 2^nd high. Sentiment today is that the war will continue likely until late summer. CPI coming in with more evidence that prices remain on the rise.  

Trump vows to respond to downed US helicopter

Trump vows to respond to downed US helicopter

By Caroline Valetkevitch and Twesha Dikshit

Tue June 9, 2026  

The big tech rebound lasted but a day. Upon hearing the news of the downed Apache helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz raising ever more doubts about a truce, all the indexes sank dramatically all morning until 1 pm. The Dow was down almost 600, the Nasdaq down a whopping 950, the S&P over 160. After 1 pm, the market began a steady rebound with tech recouping most of its losses and the Dow even managed to break into the black in the final few minutes. The VIX hit 19.8, its highest in two months (but still a far cry from the benchmark 30 that spells real trouble) but all eyes will now be on CPI coming Wednesday.  

S&P 500, Nasdaq rise as tech, chipmakers rebound

S&P 500, Nasdaq rise as tech, chipmakers rebound

By Caroline Valetkevitch and Sruthi Shankar

Mon June 8, 2026

After Friday’s devastating rout, today was a day for bargain hunting as investors picked up a lot more chip stocks. That combined with Israel and Iran agreeing to stop their attacks on each other for the time being boosted everything, the Dow up about 400, the Nasdaq almost 500 by 11 a.m. before all indexes began a steady decline with tech still closing in the black, the Dow losing all its gains plus 80. 

Wall Street ends sharply lower as chips slide, jobs data fuels rate hike fears

Wall Street ends sharply lower as chips slide, jobs data fuels rate hike fears

By Stephen Culp and Medha Singh

Fri June 5, 2026

The tech sector alone lost more than $1T in value today as all indexes plunged in a severe rout that hasn’t been seen in over a year. It was straight shot down the entire day with the Nasdaq losing over 1100 points and the S&P, which so very rarely reaches even a 100 point deficit did twice that today. The trigger was yet another case of very good news being taken as very bad news as today’s jobs report showed more than twice the number added than expected, thereby dousing hopes for a rate cut this year. Signs of a solid job market and resilient economy was, today anyway, not nearly as important as a rate cut.  

Dow claims record closing high, S&P 500 advances; chip selloff weighs on Nasdaq

Dow claims record closing high, S&P 500 advances; chip selloff weighs on Nasdaq

By Stephen Culp and Medha Singh

Thu June 4, 2026  

The Dow zoomed up big time wiping out yesterday’s losses by a considerable margin, mainly due to strong advances in healthcare and financials. The S&P also did well but the Nasdaq got slammed by a disappointing Broadcom report that sent the whole chip index down and had investors asking about AI, “Is this real? Are these valuations legitimate?” The index fell some 300 at open but recovered most of it by close.  

Wall Street ends lower as Middle East tensions escalate

Wall Street ends lower as Middle East tensions escalate

By Stephen Culp and Medha Singh

Wed June 3, 2026  

With the resumption of hostilities in Iran over the weekend, I would have thought that Monday and Tuesday would have been a short-sellers heaven. Instead, the market rose. It looks like it took three days for the war news to sink in as today there was a decisive rout all around with oil prices and inflation beckoning higher and higher and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz being critical to stemming the tide. Of course, this does not look like it’s happening soon. Inflation concerns caused a lot of profit-taking today even though fundamentals are strong, the job market looks solid and the services sector continues to expand.  

World stocks rally on AI optimism; jitters over Iran persist

World stocks rally on AI optimism; jitters over Iran persist

By Amanda Cooper and Chibuike Oguh

Tue June 1, 2026 8:38 PM EDTUpdated 1 hour ago  

The indexes edged slightly higher with continued AI fever as major companies continue to raise huge sums for AI expansion, Alphabet alone to the tune of some $80 billion. Job openings increased more than expected and that combined with yesterday’s data of increased factory activity lent more confidence to the stability and resilience of the economy. Of course, the real job numbers come on Friday. The jobs and factory data likely contributed to the big boost in the Dow.  

Wall St ends higher, boosted by tech gains, US-Iran peace hopes

Wall St ends higher, boosted by tech gains, US-Iran peace hopes

By Stephen Culp and Medha Singh

Mon June 1, 2026  

Nvidia today announced a revolutionary new AI chip that will go into personal computers and transform the entire PC market. With that news, there was a dramatic flight out of industrials and into tech with the Dow sinking almost 300 points by 11 a.m. but then recovering to close with a modest gain. Both the Nasdaq and S&P were on a consistent upward slope with the Nasdaq gaining some 220 by 2 pm before losing about half of that by close. Ditto for the S&P.  

Wall Street hits new closing highs on tech strength, Middle East deal hopes

Wall Street hits new closing highs on tech strength, Middle East deal hopes

By Saeed Azhar, Twesha Dikshit and Utkarsh Shetti

Fri May 29, 2026  

It was a choppy day for tech, up and down all day but still closing with modest gains, while the Dow reaped the benefit of exceptionally high volume suggesting more and more people were feeling good about coming into the market. The Dow was up all day and closed with a very nice 3-digit gain. But AI and really good Q1 earnings remain the major market drivers while Trump’s announcement that a final decision on Iran will be made today also brought hopes.  

S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit record closing highs as US and Iran agree to extend ceasefire

S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit record closing highs as US and Iran agree to extend ceasefire

By Saeed Azhar, Twesha Dikshit and Utkarsh Hathi

Thu May 28, 2026

There was bad news all around on the inflation front as PCE came in at a three-year high, mostly due to the Iran war, and GDP, for the first time in quite some time, was downwardly revised to 1.6% with expectations of more of the same in Q2. But the news of a tentative extension of the ceasefire (still to be approved by Trump) put all that on the backburner. Any good war news is good for tech since the oil supply and inflation so directly impact tech.  

Wall Street indexes post closing record highs, AI rally pauses

Wall Street indexes post closing record highs, AI rally pauses

By Saeed Azhar, Twesha Dikshit and Utkarsh Hathi

Wed May 27, 2026

Tech was certainly chaotic today with both indexes swinging wildly between red and black but spending most of the day well into the red though a late session comeback put them very modesty into the black. However, since they were already at records, even a very modest jump put them both into another record close. The Dow enjoyed the benefit of these tech jitters as AI investors chose caution today while watching the peace talks. Everyone was jumping from tech into industrials giving the Dow another nice 3-digit advance, recouping well more than yesterday’s losses, and once again putting it in record territory.  

S&P 500, Nasdaq hit record closing highs on AI optimism, Micron joins $1 trillion club

S&P 500, Nasdaq hit record closing highs on AI optimism, Micron joins $1 trillion club

By Saeed Azhar, Twesha Dikshit and Utkarsh Hathi

Tue May 26, 2026  

AI optimism is back in full swing with Micron suddenly becoming a trillion $ company when UBS today tripled its price target on the stock. It was more than enough for investors to start transferring money from industrials to any of the major AI players, bringing the Dow down but the tech indexes way up. Even the disappointing war news went on the back burner with the market ignoring it in favor of the continuing AI fever and an upbeat Q1. In fact Q1 has been so solid that the earnings growth forecast as it now nears its completion has been doubled from 16% a month ago to 29% today.  

Wall Street rises, Dow hits record high as Middle East hopes lift sentiment

Wall Street rises, Dow hits record high as Middle East hopes lift sentiment

By Chibuike Oguh, Shashwat Chauhan and Medha Singh

Fri May 22, 2026  

All it took was the headline of Marco Rubio stating that there has been some peace talks progress so, in spite of there remaining vast differences on critical issues, the headline pushed everything straight up again, the Dow getting the bulk of the benefit while tech declined in the afternoon. 

S&P 500 rises as investors focus on Mideast peace hopes as oil prices dip

S&P 500 rises as investors focus on Mideast peace hopes as oil prices dip

By Sinéad Carew and Utkarsh Hathi

Thu May 21, 2026 

There’s just a whole lot of volatility going on with all three indexes firmly rooted in the red until 1 pm when everything zoomed back up again. Though Walmart disappointed with its Q1 and especially its announcement that higher prices were coming for the rest of the year, the market largely shrugged it off since Q1 is almost over and has overnight shifted its focus back to the war. That is somewhat curious given the fact that the U.S. and Iran are on opposite poles with the key issues but hope remains. As far as investors are concerned, the ceasefire, as fragile as it is, is holding and they’ll take good news where ever they can find it.  

Wall St climbs 1% with chip stocks rallying before Nvidia results

Wall St climbs 1% with chip stocks rallying before Nvidia results

By Sinéad Carew and Utkarsh Hathi

Wed May 20, 2026  

All eyes were in hot anticipation of Nvidia today and, even though the report was not coming in until after the bell, two other AI giants, Astera Labs and ARM Holdings, bolted up big time and that was more than enough to convince investors that Nvidia would soon be posting a similar result. Thus, all the indexes surged huge, both industrials and tech closing with big 3-digit gains. The war news, rate hikes and inflation have all gone on the backburner again and it’s once again all-out all-AI.  

Wall St ends lower as inflation worries push up yields

Wall St ends lower as inflation worries push up yields

By Sinéad Carew and Ragini Mathur

Tue May 19, 2026  

It was still another day of a selloff as T-bills go up, the rest of the market goes down as T-bills represent safety and stocks risk. And safety is what people went looking for today as there is little hope for a foreseeable end to the war and every reason to believe oil (now at $110/barrel) and consequently everything else will keep going up. Inflation fears are now at the forefront.  

Nasdaq leads equity losses with oil, borrowing costs in focus

Nasdaq leads equity losses with oil, borrowing costs in focus

By Sinéad Carew and Ragini Mathur

Mon May 18, 2026  

The continuing closure of the Strait of Hormuz sent oil prices surging again today and concerns that inflation will only continue to worsen caused a flight from back into industrials. But it was certainly not a smooth ride as, though tech was a steady downward curve, industrials were up and down all day going back and forth between highs just over 150 to a low of down about 170 right around 3 pm before zooming up again and closing at a plus 160. 

Global shares stumble while bond yields climb on inflation worries

Global shares stumble while bond yields climb on inflation worries

By Sinéad Carew and Sophie Kiderlin

Fri May 15, 2026

 

As today’s expert so accurately pointed out, “The market is finally paying attention to what the bond market and economic data is telling it. Inflation remains sticky and is potentially going to move higher in the months ahead.” And thus with this wake-up call and the scary inflation data that has come out this week, investors are moving away from the AI euphoria and all three indexes took a major dive right at the outset and stayed there all day, both the Dow and Nasdaq suffering enormous 3-digit losses and the S&P coming within a few points of the same.  

Wall Street ends higher on tech rally; investors eye Beijing talks

Wall Street ends higher on tech rally; investors eye Beijing talks

By Stephen Culp and Ragini Mathur

Thu May 14, 2026  

Between solid economic reports coming in and optimism over the high-stakes summit in China, all three indexes went straight up to big 3-digit gains and stayed there. The S&P and Nasdaq set yet another record high and the Dow closed at less than ½ of 1% shy of its all-time record from February 10^th. The good news is that retail sales came in as expected. The bad news is that practically all of it was the result of gasoline prices.  

S&P 500, Nasdaq boosted by chips to record closing highs

S&P 500, Nasdaq boosted by chips to record closing highs

By Stephen Culp and Ragini Mathur

Wed May 13, 2026

There was a huge sell off in the morning on the Dow, with the index losing over 300 points by 11 a.m. and then bouncing back to only modest losses by close. But all those funds transferred to the tech sector with both the Nasdaq and S&P soaring all day, both indexes achieving new records, almost exclusively due to AI. Today’s AI comeback was enough for investors to turn a blind eye to the PPI data which was way higher than expected, showing the biggest increase in prices in four years.  

S&P 500, Nasdaq end lower as inflation, Iran tensions weigh

S&P 500, Nasdaq end lower as inflation, Iran tensions weigh

By Stephen Culp and Ragini Mathur

Tue May 12, 2026

All indexes way down in the morning, the Dow opening down 400, the Nasdaq down over 500 by 1 pm before everyone started a rebound to recoup most of the losses, the Dow even getting a little into the black.  The sell off was due to the combo triggers of the CPI report coming in worse than even the skeptics had forecast, CPI being out of joint because of disruption to crude supply, and continuing and increasing skepticism about the war with investors digging in for the likelihood of a prolonged conflict.  

Wall St inches to higher close, AI fervor edges out Iran impasse

Wall St inches to higher close, AI fervor edges out Iran impasse

By Stephen Culp and Ragini Mathur

Mon May 11, 2026  

It was a day of very choppy trading but still closing modestly in the black though all three indexes were much higher earlier in the day, the Nasdaq up over 100 points around noon before declining and closing up a mere 27. Tech is once again dominating with AI taking the lead sufficiently to edge out war jitters with Trump rejecting the latest Iran peace proposal and oil once again spiking as a result.  

S&P 500 and Nasdaq notch records, boosted by AI and earnings optimism

S&P 500 and Nasdaq notch records, boosted by AI and earnings optimism

By Noel Randewich

Fri May 8, 2026  

Another day of boffo earnings from AI companies sent the tech indexes way up again for the S&P and Nasdaq to notch yet another day of new records and for both indexes to have now six straight weekly gains. And again, with the Q1 optimism, money flowed out of the safety of industrials to finance the continuing tech rally. Even so, even the Dow has now logged two straight weeks of gains. With nearly 90% of the S&P now reporting, Q1 earnings growth is coming in at 29% annualized with 83% beating forecasts.  

S&P 500 ends down as chip stocks give up gains

S&P 500 ends down as chip stocks give up gains

By Noel Randewich and Sruthi Shankar

Thu May 7, 2026  

Was it a day of profit-taking after the string of recent records or was it more jitters over the war? In any case, all the indexes retreated today after starting the day modestly in the black but then declining steadily all day. The exception was the Nasdaq which began the day well into the black, up some 200 by 11 a.m. before starting its own decline. This was all despite the relatively good news of a continuing strong Q1, progress in the Iran peace talks, unemployment benefits coming in lower than expected, and better than expected private payrolls.  

Stocks hit records on tech earnings, oil slide from prospect of Iran deal

Stocks hit records on tech earnings, oil slide from prospect of Iran deal

By Lawrence Delevingne and Harry Robertson

Wed May 5, 2026  

For the second day, more reports from Washington expressing recent progress with Iran for a deal to end the war shot all three indexes way up again with even more impressive 3-digit gains than yesterday. AI champion AMD coming in after yesterday’s bell with a forecast above estimates jumped the stock price a whopping 18.6%. Is this optimism justified? As today’s expert put it, “It’s difficult to say how close to a deal we might be. Market participants aren’t going to wait for confirmation of good news and are essentially now front-running a positive outcome.”  

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.  

S&P 500, Nasdaq close at records on tech lift, Iran peace talk hopes

S&P 500, Nasdaq close at records on tech lift, Iran peace talk hopes

By Chuck Mikolajczak and Niket Nishant

Fri April 24, 2026

Two key events that likely happened right after the open were Iran sending their foreign minister to Pakistan to try to restart peace talks and the DOJ dropping the investigation again Powell. As all the indexes opened near flat but then almost immediately started zooming up and up until 12 pm, at which time they leveled off and remained steady the rest of the day resulting in a nice 3-digit gain on the Nasdaq and putting both tech indexes at four consecutive weeks of gains, their longest streak in over a year.  

Stocks close lower on fading hopes for quick Iran deal, mixed quarterly earnings

Stocks close lower on fading hopes for quick Iran deal, mixed quarterly earnings

By Chuck Mikolajczak and Niket Nishant

Thu April 23, 2026

At 1 pm there was a drastic plunge in all the indexes, the Dow down over 600 by 2 pm as news came to an already war-weary and skeptical market that one of Iran’s key negotiators had resigned and further fell when oil prices rose on reports of renewed air attacks on Iran. But by 2 pm, as investors have been inclined to do, war news went on the back burner and the focus returned to the very strong Q1.

S&P, Nasdaq close at records on Iran ceasefire extension, earnings

S&P, Nasdaq close at records on Iran ceasefire extension, earnings

By Chuck Mikolajczak and Niket Nishant

Wed April 22, 2026

Yesterday, sentiment switched to being about the war with the expert saying, “it’s baffling to me that people think it’s going to be okay.” But with Trump’s after-hours announcement of an indefinite extension of the ceasefire, the market got its wish as all three indexes skyrocketed right out the gate and all three closing with all new record highs. So once again investors get to focus on Q1 earnings which continue to come in strong. Today’s sentiment on the war has switched to, “Everyone’s kind of sick of it … clearly the market is looking for a beneficial outcome.” 

Wall Street falls as Middle East concerns offset earnings optimism

Wall Street falls as Middle East concerns offset earnings optimism

By Chuck Mikolajczak and Niket Nishant

Tue April 21, 2026  

Wall Street optimism dominated the opening with all three indexes well into gains, the Dow up some 400 by 10 a.m. Up until now, war news has been shrugged off in favor of solid Q1 earnings but today that flipped. Despite another round of solid Q1, focus today went to the war with the markets declining after 10 a.m. and for the rest of the session to close with substantial 3-digit losses. Some of this was triggered by the news of Vance not going to Pakistan after all.  

Wall Street closes slightly down on renewed tensions between US, Iran

Wall Street closes slightly down on renewed tensions between US, Iran

By Chuck Mikolajczak and Purvi Agarwal

Mon April 20, 2026

It was pretty predictable that after the ceasefire more or less fell apart over the weekend and the Strait of Hormuz closed again after only one day, that the market would drop and the only wonder was that it didn’t drop a whole lot more. But as we’ve seen, investors are taking the war news pretty much in stride and are staying a lot more optimistic than otherwise. Indeed, all the indexes did drop quite a lot this morning, the Dow down over 200 by 11 a.m., but then, though quite choppy, all three recovered throughout the session, to close with only minor losses.  

Wall Street indexes hit record highs as oil falls with Strait of Hormuz declared open

Wall Street indexes hit record highs as oil falls with Strait of Hormuz declared open

By Sinéad Carew and Niket Nishant

Fri April 17, 2026

With Iran’s announcement that the Strait of Hormuz would now be open and Trump’s announcement that a peace deal could be reached as early as this weekend (though not yet confirmed by Iran), the markets exploded for a third consecutive day of new record highs. Oil plunged 11% which pacified investors that the concern about oil blowing up inflation was diminishing.

S&P 500, Nasdaq edge up to new records with Middle East hopes in focus

S&P 500, Nasdaq edge up to new records with Middle East hopes in focus

By Sinéad Carew and Niket Nishant

Thu April 16, 2026  

More good Q1 news combined with an Israel-Lebanon ceasefire and a new promise of renewed talks with Iran shot the indexes up for a fourth straight day and though gains were modest on the tech side, any gains meant another record breaking day and the longest Nasdaq winning streak in 17 years. But until the war is actually over, there is still plenty of uncertainty.  

S&P 500, Nasdaq push to closing records on optimism around Middle East talks, earnings

S&P 500, Nasdaq push to closing records on optimism around Middle East talks, earnings 

By Sinéad Carew and Niket Nishant

Wed April 15, 2026

More positive Q1 reports from more banks combined with continued optimism on peace talks injected more confidence in the markets for the third day with both the Nasdaq and S&P reaching new records, the Nasdaq its first since October 29^th. In fact, less than three weeks after Nasdaq signaled its correction it has already rebounded all the correction losses. The loser today was the Dow, down some 250 by 1 pm but then enjoyed its own rebound to close well above that low.  

Wall Street rallies on renewed hopes for US-Iran talks, earnings boost

Wall Street rallies on renewed hopes for US-Iran talks, earnings boost

By Sinéad Carew and Niket Nishant

Tue April 14, 2026  

With talk of the likelihood of resumed peace talks in the next couple days and the U.S. move for talks between Israel and Lebanon, the indexes all shot straight up again. Optimism that we’ve reached peak uncertainty and that a rebound is coming, as today’s expert put it, “Markets are starting to kind of walk away from some of the worst-case scenarios for these events and because valuations have improved over the last couple of weeks and months, investors are buying the dip right now.”  

Wall Street indexes gain as investors hold out hope for US-Iran resolution

Wall Street indexes gain as investors hold out hope for US-Iran resolution

By Sinéad Carew and Niket Nishant

Mon April 13, 2026  

With the Iranian business falling apart over the weekend, it would have been an easy call for the markets to slump today and become a short-sellers fiesta. But that’s what makes the markets fun because exactly the opposite happened. All three indexes opened in the red, the Dow particularly bad at a minus 400, but right around the noon hour, everything started rebounding. Part of this was the on again-off again nature of the negotiations which has left investors immune to the war news. Another part was Trump once again announcing that Iran was back at the table.  

Wall St ends mixed, notches weekly gains as investors parse Middle East negotiations

Wall St ends mixed, notches weekly gains as investors parse Middle East negotiations

By Stephen Culp and Purvi Agarwal

Fri April 10, 2026

Starting at about 10:30 a.m., it was a shot straight down on the Dow all day as investors continue to digest war news and hedge bets on the cease-fire which has already been repeatedly violated. But though industrials sank, tech did much better with the S&P in the green until about 11:30 when it suddenly sank into the red for the rest of the day. The Nasdaq did even better, gaining some 200 by 11:30 before it too began to sink but still remained on the upside all day to be the only index to close with gains. The flight from the safety of industrials into the more risky tech sectors happens whenever there is more optimism.  

Wall Street ends higher as Middle East peace talks lift sentiment

Wall Street ends higher as Middle East peace talks lift sentiment

By Stephen Culp and Avinash P

Thu April 9, 2026  

Yesterday’s disruptions to the cease-fire quite predictably caused all three indexes to open down this morning, the Dow a minus 220 by 11 a.m.  But the markets then began a recovery likely sparked by Israel seeking talks with Lebanon and continued optimism that the Iran agreements would hold, particularly the promise to temporarily reopen the Strait of Hormuz which Iran had initially promised would happen today.  

Wall Street ends sharply higher on US-Iran ceasefire

Wall Street ends sharply higher on US-Iran ceasefire

By Stephen Culp and Purvi Agarwal

Wed April 8, 2026  

Since the two-week cease-fire agreement was announced nearly 3 hours after the markets closed yesterday, it was quite predictable that the indexes would soar today. And soar they did right out the gate and stayed there all day, the Dow racing up 4-digits to its biggest one-day gain in a year, while the S&P and Nasdaq regained a lot of the ground lost since the start of the war. This jubilation continued despite the hiccups in the cease-fire agreement that occurred throughout the day.  

Wall Street closes mixed, with signs of progress as Trump's Iran deadline draws near

Wall Street closes mixed, with signs of progress as Trump's Iran deadline draws near

By Stephen Culp and Purvi Agarwal

Tue April 7, 2026  

The day started as a disaster with the Dow down over 650 points by 11 a.m. But once again investors chose to take the positive approach that there would be a peace deal and rather downplay Trump’s fiery rhetoric. There was encouragement when Pakistan said that talks were progressing steadily while urging a 2-week extension on the Iran attack deadline while also asking Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz for that 2-week period.  

Wall St ends higher as investors parse US-Iran negotiations, threats

Wall St ends higher as investors parse US-Iran negotiations, threats

By Stephen Culp and Purvi Agarwal

Mon April 6, 2026

 

Mixed messages continue to haunt the markets as investors try to balance peace talks vs Trump’s increasingly heated war rhetoric. But Wall Street continues to lean towards putting more weight on the peace talks. With that, the indexes were quite predictably bumpy again but ended on a positive note with both the Dow and Nasdaq closing with 3-digit gains. The jobs report released on Good Friday showed stellar gains, triple the forecast, but this was tempered by a sharp upward revision of February job losses with over 40,000 additional jobs gone.