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Stock Market News for May 6, 2026

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U.S. stocks ended higher on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hitting new all-time highs, as oil prices slid and robust earnings from AI-related stocks lifted investors’ sentiment. All three major indexes ended in positive territory.

How Did The Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 1.1% or 356.35 points, to finish at 49,298.25 points.  

The S&P 500 gained 0.8% to close at 7,259.22 points. Tech and materials stocks were the biggest winners.

The Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) gained 1.7%. The Information Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) rose 2.2%. The Industrials Select Sector SPDR (XLI) added 0.8%. Ten of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in positive territory.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1% to end at 25,326.13 points.

The fear gauge, CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), was down 4.98% to 17.38. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the S&P 500 by a 1.7-to-1 ratio. A total of 16.1 billion shares were traded on Tuesday, lower than the last 20-session average of 17.7 billion.

On the Nasdaq, there were 160 new highs and 79 new lows. On the S&P 500, there were 43 new 52-week highs and 23 new lows.

Oil Prices Dip as Ceasefire Holds

Stocks rose on Tuesday as investors felt somewhat relieved after the United States said that the ceasefire with Iran “certainly holds.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also confirmed that two U.S. commercial ships “safely transited the strait.”

Although the ceasefire remains fragile, Hegseth's announcement assured investors that attempts by Iran to gain control of the Strait of Hormuz have largely been checked.

Oil prices fell on Tuesday. The West Texas Intermediate crude futures slid 3.9% to settle at $102.27 per barrel.  

Robust Earnings Impress Investors

Indexes got a further boost after yet another batch of companies reported blowout earnings. Investors will closely watch some of the big AI-focused companies expected to report quarterly results this week.

Shares of Pfizer, Inc. ((PFE - Free Report) ) gained 0.6% after the company reported first-quarter 2026 earnings of $0.75 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.71 per share. Pfizer currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company ((ADM - Free Report) ) jumped 3.8% after the company reported earnings of $0.71 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.66 per share.

However, shares of Shopify Inc. ((SHOP - Free Report) ) plummeted 15.6% despite the company posting an earnings beat. Shopify reported first-quarter 2026 earnings of $0.36 per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.32 per share.

Economic Data

Investors also closely watched the much-anticipated JOLTS report, released on Tuesday. Fresh data showed that job openings in the United States fell to 6.866 million in March. However, it came in marginally above the analysts’ expectations of a decline to 6.835 million.

In other economic data released on Tuesday, the Institute of Supply Management’s non-manufacturing PMI came in at 53.6 in April, missing the consensus estimate of a reading of 53.7. 

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