US: S&P 500 and Nasdaq notch records, boosted by AI and earnings optimism

Published Sat, May 9, 2026 · 10:57 AM

[BENGALURU] The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq notched record highs on Friday (May 8), boosted by gains in Nvidia, Sandisk and other AI-related stocks, while a stronger-than-expected jobs report pointed to labour market resilience.

Nvidia climbed 1.8 per cent, while memory and storage sellers Micron Technology and Sandisk soared more than 15 per cent each, lifted by strong demand from the rapid build-out of AI data centres.

The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index jumped, bringing its gain so far in the second quarter to 55 per cent.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq have surged to record highs this week as investors focused on strong financial reports from US companies, setting aside concerns that high oil prices related to the Middle East conflict are fuelling inflation.

First-quarter S&P 500 earnings are on track to climb almost 29 per cent year over year, with much of that growth fuelled by Wall Street’s AI-related heavyweights, according to LSEG I/B/E/S.

“This is an economy that seems hard to wreck,” said Rob Williams, chief investment strategist at Sage Advisory Services in Austin, Texas. “It’s the productivity story, the spending, the consumer wealth effect and the earnings.”

The S&P 500 climbed 0.8 per cent to end the session at 7,398.93 points. The Nasdaq gained 1.7 per cent to 26,247.08 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.02 per cent to 49,609.16 points.

The S&P 500 technology index jumped 2.7 per cent, while the utilities sector index fell 0.9 per cent.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq notched their sixth straight weekly gains, the longest such winning streak since October 2024. The Dow has logged two consecutive weekly advances.

The S&P 500 has now gained 8 per cent in 2026, while the Nasdaq has rallied 13 per cent.

Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones within the S&P 500 by a 1.4-to-one ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 28 new highs and 30 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 134 new highs and 119 new lows.

Volume on US exchanges was relatively light, with 17.2 billion shares traded, compared with an average of 17.6 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions. REUTERS