Traders work at the New York Stock Exchange on May 28, 2026.
NYSE
U.S. equities closed at record highs on Friday, while crude prices slipped, helping the major averages score a winning month, boosted by technology.
The Nasdaq Composite settled up 0.2% at 26,972.62, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.22% to 7,580.06. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 363.49 points, or 0.72%, at 51,032.46. All three indexes hit fresh all-time intraday highs earlier as well.
Dell Technologies was a winner. Shares surged nearly 33%, seeing its best day on record, after the laptop maker reported a first-quarter beat on both the top and bottom lines and raised its full-year guidance.
Shares of Micron Technology and Qualcomm rose 5% and 3%, respectively, adding to their recent gains. While the two have suffered notable drops this month, they both posted sizable gains in the period. Micron jumped almost 88% in May, while Qualcomm rose close to 40%.
The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK), which hit a new 52-week high Friday, moved up nearly 20% on the month.
“Dell is like the poster child for [the] AI broadening earning story,” said David Nicholas, CEO and founder of XFUNDs by Nicholas Wealth. “We started with chips, memory, but it’s really now about the broad kind of AI infrastructure stack.”
Friday marks the final trading session of May, and all three major averages notched gains. The Nasdaq outperformed, recording an advance of more than 8% for the month. The S&P 500 finished up 5%, while the Dow posted an almost 3% climb.
All three major indexes also ended the week higher, with the Nasdaq in the lead with a gain of more than 2%. The S&P 500 rose more than 1% on the week, while the blue-chip Dow notched a gain of slightly less than 1%.
Stocks are coming off a record-setting session after the U.S. and Iran agreed to Iranian negotiators agreed on a 60-day memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire.
The president said in a Truth Social post Friday morning that he is meeting in the Situation Room “to make a final determination” and insisted that Iran “must agree that they will never have a Nuclear Weapon.” He also said that the Strait of Hormuz must be “immediately open.”
After the announcement, West Texas Intermediate futures closed down 1.73% to $87.36 per barrel. Brent crude dropped 1.77% to close at $92.05. The U.S. benchmark saw its biggest monthly decline since April 2025 as prices dropped nearly 17%.
“There’s always that black swan risk that something pops off, but my gut tells me that this thing should be coming to an end very quickly,” Nicholas said. “The market has priced a lot of that in, but I just think it unlocks the market to continue moving higher.”
— CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger contributed reporting.
