Markets News, May 6, 2026: Tech Stocks Power S&P 500, Nasdaq to Records as Indexes Close Higher; Oil Dives on Optimism War May End Soon

Major stock indexes ended higher, lifted by soaring tech shares, while oil prices sank on optimism that the U.S. and Iran were nearing a deal to end the war.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq, benchmark S&P 500, and blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average finished Wednesday a respective 2%, 1.5%, and 1.2% higher, with the Dow adding more than 600 points. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq set intraday and closing records for a second straight day.

Stocks had jumped in premarket trading following an Axios report that "the White House believes it's getting close to an agreement with Iran on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war and set a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations." Iran's foreign ministry told CNBC that it was evaluating the U.S. proposal.

President Donald Trump then wrote on Truth Social that "assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end, and the highly effective Blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be OPEN TO ALL, including Iran." Trump added that "if they don't agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before."

Oil prices pared losses after Trump's post but still were down in recent trading. West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, plunged 7% to $95.15 a barrel at 4 p.m. ET. Front-month contracts of Brent crude, the global benchmark, settled down 7.8% to $101.27.

The 10-year Treasury yield, which influences interest rates on mortgages and other consumer loans, dropped to 4.35% from Tuesday's close around 4.43%.

Gold futures advanced 3% to $4,708 an ounce. Bitcoin was at $81,500, little changed over the past 24 hours. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of foreign currencies, was down 0.4% at 98.02.

Yesterday, technology shares powered the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, and they led advances again Wednesday. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) soared about 19% to a fresh record and Super Micro Computer (SMCI) popped 25% after both issued rosy current-quarter guidance. Shares of all the Magnificent Seven tech giants rose, with Nvidia leading advances.

In other post-earnings moves, Uber Technologies (UBER) jumped roughly 8.5%; CVS Health (CVS) rose 7.5%; The Walt Disney Co. (DIS) advanced 7.5%; Novo Nordisk (NVO) gained 2%; and Burger King parent Restaurant Brands International (QSR) fell 5.5%. Arm Holdings (ARM) soared 14% and AppLovin (APP) fell 2% ahead of their earnings reports after the close.

Glass and optical products maker Corning (GLW) soared 12% and AI chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA), the world's most valuable company, rose 5.7%, after they announced a partnership that includes three new optical connectivity manufacturing plants.

Energy Sector Sinks on Overall Great Day for S&P 500

The S&P 500 is up 1.4% today, having set its latest all-time high. It'd be up even more sharply were it not for energy shares.

The S&P 500 Energy Sector is down nearly 4.5% in the final hour of trading, affected by plunging oil prices.

Devon Energy (DVN), Coterra Energy (CTRA), Occidental Petroleum (OXY), APA (APA), and Valero Energy (VLO) all are down more than 7%.

In fact, every single stock in the sector is down at least 1% today.

Gas Prices Top $4.50 for First Time Since July 2022—Only 3 States Remain Below $4

The price of gasoline has risen daily for two weeks, reaching $4.54 a gallon today—the highest national average since July 2022—as the Iran conflict continues to disrupt oil markets.

The average price of regular gas has jumped 52 cents since April 22, when it dipped to $4.02 after a brief pullback, according to AAA.

Oil prices fell sharply Wednesday on signs of potential progress toward a U.S.–Iran deal, which could bring some relief to drivers. However, prices are likely to remain volatile—and well above historical averages—as uncertainty and supply disruptions persist.

Investopedia / Sabrina Karl

Before the conflict began, drivers had been enjoying relatively low prices at the pump, with the national average holding in $2 territory for almost all of December, January, and February. It was the first sustained stretch in that range in almost five years. Since then, however, prices have climbed $1.56 per gallon to today's high.

Read the full article here.

-Sabrina Karl

Uber Shares Surge on Rosy Bookings Outlook

Shares of Uber Technologies (UBER) began the day down nearly 11% this year. They've clawed most of it back.

Uber stock surged 7.5% Wednesday after the ride-hailing and food delivery firm issued rosy current-quarter bookings guidance.

The San Francisco-based company sees second-quarter gross bookings of $56.25 billion to $57.75 billion. Analysts polled by Visible Alpha expect gross bookings of $56.23 billion. The midpoint of Uber's adjusted earnings per share guidance range, $0.80, matched expectations.

Michael Nagle / Bloomberg via Getty Images

For the first quarter, Uber reported adjusted EPS of $0.72 on revenue of $13.20 billion. Visible Alpha consensus called for $0.70 and $13.29 billion, respectively. Gross bookings grew 25% year-over-year to $53.7 billion, topping estimates.

"We are off to an exceptional start to 2026, with Gross Bookings growth exceeding 21% for the third consecutive quarter and earnings scaling at more than twice our topline," CFO Balaji Krishnamurthy said. "From this position of strength, we're investing with conviction in the significant opportunities ahead, while taking a capital-efficient approach to AVs and embracing AI to drive growth and productivity."

Is Super Micro Computer Stock Finally Turning a Corner?

Things may be looking up for Super Micro Computer and its investors after a couple of painful years.

Super Micro Computer (SMCI) stock was up 15% in afternoon trading Wednesday after the AI server maker’s rosy outlook overshadowed its mixed quarterly results.

Supermicro on Tuesday afternoon reported revenue in the first three months of the year totaled $10.2 billion, more than twice last year’s sales but $2 billion less than analysts expected. Adjusted profit, on the other hand, easily beat estimates after increasing about 170%. The company’s forecast of current-quarter sales and adjusted earnings both exceeded expectations.

Bloomberg / Contributor / Getty Images

Wednesday’s jump put Supermicro stock at its highest level since mid-March, when shares lost one-third of their value in a day after the Justice Department charged three associates, including co-founder Yih-Shyan “Wally” Liaw, with conspiring to ship AI hardware to China in violation of export controls. The indictment did not accuse Supermicro of wrongdoing.

Read the full article here.

-Colin Laidley

AMD's Stock Soars to a Fresh Record as AI Demand Drives Up Sales

Advanced Micro Devices stock is soaring to new highs on signs of booming AI demand.

Shares of the chipmaker were up over 16% in recent trading around $414, after setting a fresh record high above $430 earlier in the session, a day after the chipmaker posted stronger-than-expected results driven by growth in its data center business.

Shares of other semiconductor firms including Nvidia (NVDA), Intel (INTC), and Qualcomm (QCOM), also gained, helping lift the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to new records. The PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index (SOX) was up more than 3%.

Ying Tang / NurPhoto / Getty Images

Following the report, analysts at Wedbush and Bank of America raised their targets to $450 from $410 and $310, respectively.

Read the full article here.

-Aaron McDade

There's Another AI-Powered IPO in the Works. Here's What You Should Know

Artificial intelligence startups are coming soon—to a stock exchange near you.

Investors may be fixated on some of the highest-profile names, such as OpenAI and Anthropic. But other companies are moving close to listings too, among them Cerebras Systems, a chipmaker that aims to take on Nvidia (NVDA). It would appear to be the right time, since risk appetite has returned as investor fears about the war in Iran have been subsumed by renewed optimism that AI will be the Next Big Thing.

Cerebras on Monday re-submitted its initial public offering documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission—it initially filed in October, then withdrew—aiming to sell 28 million shares at a price between $115 and $125 apiece. At the high end of that range, Cerebras' IPO would raise some $3.5 billion, and its implied market capitalization would be over $26 billion. The company's private valuation tripled earlier this year from roughly $8 billion to about $23 billion.

Angela Weiss / AFP via Getty Images

Cerebras' retail roadshow featured an endorsement from Sam Altman, founder of OpenAI, which Cerebras counts as a customer and partner. "We believe Cerebras is the best high-speed inference offering in the world right now. And it's hard to overstate how important high-speed inference is," Altman said, referring to a process where a trained AI model makes a prediction or solves a task on data it hasn't seen before. Cerebras' slide deck compares its inference speed with that of Nvidia's GPUs, saying leading open-source models are 15 times faster on Cerebras; the company also said its hardware competes against the chip giant, but also Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Intel (INTC), and Big Tech companies including Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL), and Oracle (ORCL).

Read the full article here.

-Crystal Kim

Intel Shares Hit Fresh All-Time High; Freedom Capital Markets Not Impressed

Intel (INTC) shares hit yet another all-time high Wednesday. Paul Meeks of Freedom Capital Markets remains underwhelmed.

A day after soaring 13% following a Bloomberg report that it's held preliminary talks to bring Apple (AAPL) on board as a customer, Intel stock rose 2.5% further Wednesday afternoon to more than $111.

Intel shares, which were trading below $50 as recently as early April, have tripled thi