S&P 500 and Nasdaq notch records, boosted by AI and earnings optimism
Market Performance and Key Drivers
By Noel Randewich
May 8 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq notched record highs on Friday, boosted by gains in Nvidia, Sandisk and other AI-related stocks, while a stronger-than-expected jobs report pointed to labor market resilience.
AI Stocks Lead the Rally
Nvidia climbed 1.8%, while memory and storage sellers Micron Technology and Sandisk soared more than 15% each, lifted by strong demand from the rapid buildout of AI data centers.
The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index jumped, bringing its gain so far in the second quarter to 55%.
Technology Sector Outperformance
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq have surged to record highs this week as investors focused on strong financial reports from U.S. companies, setting aside concerns that high oil prices related to the Middle East conflict are fueling inflation.
First-quarter S&P 500 earnings are on track to climb almost 29% year-over-year, with much of that growth fueled by Wall Street's AI-related heavyweights, according to LSEG I/B/E/S.
"This is an economy that seems hard to wreck," said Rob Williams, chief investment strategist at Sage Advisory Services in Austin, Texas. "It's the productivity story, the spending, the consumer wealth effect and the earnings."
Labor Market and Federal Reserve Outlook
Data showed U.S. employment increased more than expected in April and the unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%, reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve would leave interest rates unchanged for some time.
Traders expect the central bank will hold interest rates steady in the 3.50% to 3.75% range until the end of the year.
Market Indices and Sector Movements
The S&P 500 climbed 0.84% to end the session at 7,398.93 points. The Nasdaq gained 1.71% to 26,247.08 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.02% to 49,609.16 points.
The S&P 500 technology index jumped 2.7%, while the utilities sector index fell 0.9%.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq notched their sixth straight weekly gains, the longest such winning streak since October 2024. The Dow has logged two consecutive weekly advances.
The S&P 500 has now gained 8% in 2026, while the Nasdaq has rallied 13%.
Geopolitical Factors and Oil Prices
The earnings optimism helped investors look past fresh attacks between U.S. and Iranian forces in the Gulf.
Brent crude rose above $100 a barrel as hopes faded for a quick resolution to the Middle East conflict and the gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit route for oil and liquefied natural gas.
The U.S. said it expected a response from Tehran to its latest proposal later on Friday.
Corporate Earnings Highlights
Of the 440 S&P 500 companies that have reported first-quarter results so far, 83% have topped analysts' earnings estimates, according to LSEG. That compares with a long-term average of about 67%.
Earnings Disappointments
However, there have been some earnings disappointments.
Cloudflare plunged 24% after the cloud services company said it would cut about 20% of its workforce and forecast second-quarter revenue slightly below Wall Street expectations.
Trade Desk fell 1.8% after the ad-tech firm forecast second-quarter revenue below Wall Street estimates.
CoreWeave dropped 11.4% after the cloud infrastructure technology company raised the lower end of its annual capital expenditure forecast, citing a rise in component costs.
Online travel platform Expedia declined 9% after it flagged that the conflict in the Middle East was hurting demand.
Market Breadth and Trading Volume
Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones within the S&P 500 by a 1.4-to-one ratio.
The S&P 500 posted 28 new highs and 30 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 134 new highs and 119 new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was relatively light, with 17.2 billion shares traded, compared to an average of 17.6 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions.
Reporting Credits
(Reporting by Noel Randewich, Sruthi Shankar and Utkarsh Hathi in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai and David Gregorio)
