A trader works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., May 1, 2026.
Jeenah Moon | Reuters
The S&P 500 rose to a fresh all-time intraday high on Friday, boosted by Apple shares, while oil prices fell as a new month of trading got underway.
The broad market index advanced 0.29% to end at 7,230.12. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.89%, reaching an all-time high and closing at 25,114.44. Both indexes posted closing records. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 152.87 points, or 0.31%, to settle at 49,499.27.
Shares of Apple climbed more than 3% after the consumer tech giant posted a fiscal second-quarter earnings and revenue beat. Not only that, the company’s revenue outlook for the current quarter was better than expected, overshadowing the fact that iPhone revenue fell short of estimates for the second time in three quarters.
On the flip side, oil prices fell after Iran reportedly sent its response through Pakistani mediators to the latest U.S. amendments to a draft agreement to end the Middle East conflict.
President Donald Trump revealed later Friday he is displeased with a new peace offer from Iran, saying that the country “wants to make a deal, but I’m not satisfied with it.”
Oil prices were off their lows of the day following that development. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 2.98% to settle at $101.94 a barrel. International benchmark Brent crude futures slid 2.02% to $108.17 a barrel.
The moves come after a record-setting session, with the S&P 500 closing above the 7,200 threshold for the first time ever. That helped both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq — which also notched a new record closing high — secure their strongest monthly performances since 2020. The Dow, meanwhile, saw its strongest monthly performance since November 2024.
A strong first-quarter earnings season, as well as hopes for easing tensions in the Middle East, have ultimately boosted stocks higher on the year. Although the major averages took a dip on the commencement of the U.S. war with Iran, all three indexes are now trading well above where they began 2026.
David Krakauer of Mercer Advisors believes that positive trajectory can continue in the long term for equities. While Krakauer is hopeful that the Iran war will conclude in the near term, leading to a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, he believes that the earnings growth potential in the U.S. as well as overseas will offer momentum to stocks, even if the conflict persists.
“There could be always new news or some sentiment declining, where we could see a little bit of a pullback here after a strong pop up, but we’re still just overall strategically bullish on equities,” the vice president of portfolio management said.
Noting that there will be winners and losers in technology as “not all” of the artificial intelligence capital expenditures spending is going to “pay off,” Krakauer added, “We think the enhanced productivity story remains intact.”
