The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 875 points Thursday to a record closing high as progress toward ending the Iran war lifted investor confidence, even as chip stocks stumbled on disappointing Broadcom earnings.
The blue-chip index rose 1.73% to close at 51,562.16, powered by healthcare and financial stocks.
The S&P 500 posted modest gains of 0.41%, reaching 7,584.82, while the Nasdaq Composite ended essentially flat, slipping 0.07% to 26,834.26 as semiconductor stocks faced pressure.
“About the only blemish on the market at this point is Broadcom, and I think investors are buying the dip.”
Paul Nolte, senior wealth adviser and market strategist at Murphy & Sylvest, told Newsmax that investors haven’t abandoned chip stocks despite the selloff, but questions remain about whether AI-driven valuations are sustainable.
The rally followed the House passing a measure Wednesday that would block President Trump from continuing military operations against Iran. A U.S.-mediated ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon—a key condition for an Iranian peace deal—further boosted optimism, though pro-Iran Hezbollah rejected the truce and refused to withdraw troops from Lebanon.
Crude oil futures dropped on hopes that tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz could soon resume.
But Nolte cautioned that the timeline for resolving the conflict remains uncertain. “How many deals have we had? It’s always right around the corner, a corner we’ve yet to reach,” he said.
On the economic front, initial jobless claims rose 6.1% unexpectedly, while first-quarter labor costs and productivity were revised sharply lower. Corporate layoffs announced in May jumped 11% to 97,006, with nearly 40% attributed to AI, according to Challenger, Gray and Christmas.
Chipmaker Broadcom missed revenue expectations, sending its shares tumbling and dragging down other semiconductor stocks. Marvell Technology gained ground, while Advanced Micro Devices, Micron Technology, and Qualcomm all lost ground.
UnitedHealth boosted the healthcare sector after Bank of America upgraded the stock to “buy.” Financials rebounded from a sharp selloff in the previous session driven by private credit concerns. Blackstone shares advanced after capping withdrawals from its flagship private credit fund following increased redemption requests.
Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike slumped after reporting higher quarterly operating expenses.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX kicked off an investor roadshow Thursday ahead of its June 12 market debut. The company is targeting a record $75 billion IPO that would value it at $1.75 trillion.
