Dow Jones Hits Record Highs, DELL Jumps 15%: Stock Market Today

U.S. stocks pushed higher by midday Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average punching to a fresh record high as a powerful AI-led rally in chip and PC names overpowered another shock to consumer sentiment. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 are now on track for an eighth straight weekly gain — the longest winning streak since 2023 — as diplomatic signals on Iran helped cool oil and pulled Treasury yields lower for a third consecutive session. The S&P 500 climbed 0.4% to 7,477 by 11 a.m. ET, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 324 points, or 0.6%, to a record 50,610, led by Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK ) ,+4.7%; Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT ) , +3.7% and IBM (NYSE: IBM ) , +2.8%. The latter is on track for its best week in over two decades. The Nasdaq 100 added 0.2% to 29,417, dragged by a soft session within Magnificent Seven stocks. NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA ) slipped 1.2% as traders continued to digest a first-quarter report that beat headline estimates but delivered revenue guidance that did not exceed the upper end of analyst expectations. Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT ) and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL ) each slipped less than 0.5%. The Russell 2000 outperformed, rising 0.9% as small caps caught a tailwind from falling yields. The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index was revised to a record low 44.8 in May from a preliminary 48.2, a third straight monthly drop blamed on Hormuz-driven gasoline costs. One-year inflation expectations were nudged up to 4.8% and five-year expectations to 3.9% — the highest in seven months — keeping a hawkish overlay on every Fed headline. The bond market now assigns a 82% ... Full story available on Benzinga.com