US equities closed at record highs on Friday as investors weighed the durability of the AI-driven rally and reassessed Middle East oil supply risks and their implications for inflation. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq each added 0.2%, while the Dow Jones advanced 0.8%. For the month, the Nasdaq climbed about 8%, the S&P 500 gained 5%, and the Dow rose 2%.
Reports yesterday indicated that the US and Iran have agreed in principle to a 60-day memorandum that would extend the current ceasefire and begin restoring vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, though President Trump has yet to sign off on the arrangement. Energy prices and bond yields both moved lower, providing broad, if modest, support to equities. Financials and consumer defensive stocks edged higher.
In technology, Microsoft advanced 5.4% and Oracle gained more than 10%, as AI software shares were buoyed by a new funding round in Anthropic. Dell jumped more than 30% after its AI server business drove an upgrade to its latest guidance.
