Wall Street closed at record highs on Friday, driven by a tech rally as oil prices dropped and investors looked forward to a potential U.S.-Iran peace deal. All three major indexes ended in positive territory.
How Did the Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 0.7% or 363.37 points, to end at 51,032.34 points.
The S&P 500 gained 0.2%, or 16.44 points, to finish at 7,580.07 points. Tech stocks were the biggest gainers, while consumer staple stocks were the worst performers.
The Information Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) gained 1.9%. The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) lost 2%. Nine of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in negative territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 0.2%, or 55.15, to close at 26,972.62 points.
The fear gauge, CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), was down 2.67% to 15.32. Decliners outnumbered advancers on the S&P 500 by a 1.04-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, a 1.05-1 ratio favored declining issues. A total of 23.9 billion shares were traded on Friday, higher than the last 20-session average of 19.6 billion.
On the Nasdaq, there were 125 new highs and 54 new lows. On the S&P 500, there were 27 new 52-week highs and 12 new lows.
Tech Stocks, Hopes of Iran Deal Drive Rally
President Donald Trump said on social media on Friday that he would soon decide on the Iran deal after Tehran said that they want the United States to take action, as Iran is not looking at words. Investors’ sentiment got a boost as they hoped that a deal could now be reached anytime.
Trump’s announcement on Friday saw oil prices dip. The West Texas Intermediate futures ended down 1.73% to $87.36 per barrel.
Also, tech stocks rallied on Friday, boosting the broader market. Shares of Dell Technologies Inc. ( DELL) surged 32.8% after the company reported an earnings beat, powered by robust AI demand and raised its full-year guidance.
Dell reported first-quarter fiscal 2027 non-GAAP earnings of $4.86 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.04 per share. Dell Technologies has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Other tech stocks also rallied on Friday. Shares of Micron Technology, Inc. ( MU) jumped 5.1%. The Information Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) hit a 52-week high on Friday and gained nearly 20% for the month.
Friday’s rally saw all three major indexes hit new all-time closing highs after hitting intra-day highs.
No major economic data was released on Friday.
Weekly Roundup
All three major indexes ended in the green for the week. The Nasdaq gained 2.4% for the week. The Dow and S&P 500 ended the week 0.9% and 1.4% higher.
Monthly Roundup
For the month, the S&P 500 climbed 5.2%, while the Dow gained 2.8%. The Nasdaq added 8.4% for the month.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).