Financial Markets Wall Street

The U.S stock market motored to more records as profits keep piling up for big businesses. The S&P 500 rallied 1% Thursday and topped its prior all-time high to finish its best month in more than five years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.6%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.9% to its own record. Alphabet led the way after the owner of Google and YouTube reported profit for the start of 2026 that blew past analysts’ expectations. The gains came after the latest whipsaw moves for oil prices, which surged toward their highest levels since the war with Iran began only to quickly regress.

The U.S. stock market set more records after Apple, Estee Lauder and others joined the list of companies delivering fatter profits for the start of the year than analysts expected. The S&P 500 climbed 0.3% Friday to its latest all-time high and closed out a fifth straight winning week. That’s its longest such streak since 2024. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.9% to its own record. Apple led the way after delivering better profit than expected. Easing oil prices also helped steady the stock markets around the world that were still open on the May Day holiday.