S&P 500 Closes In on Record High as Tech Rallies: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — A rally in giant technology companies drove stocks higher, overshadowing concerns about still-elevated oil prices and bond yields.

The S&P 500 rose to a striking distance of a record while the Nasdaq 100 reached a fresh peak. Political upheaval in Europe and fiscal worries drove the euro to its weakest since May 2025. Longer-dated Treasury yields hit multi-decade highs. Brazilian assets soared as investor favorite Flávio Bolsonaro became the front-runner to win the presidential election runoff.

Markets have absorbed rising rates, high energy costs and renewed inflation concerns, with stocks continuing to advance. Strong earnings, consumer spending and sustained artificial intelligence-related investment have all kept growth intact, according to Principal Asset Management.

“There’s plenty for investors to worry about, but earnings continue to be the counterweight,” said Mark Hackett at Nationwide. “What’s encouraging is that the strength isn’t a fluke. We’re seeing a healthy combination of growth and margin expansion.”

Rates are becoming “more punitive” and expectations are high, but companies have outgrown those pressures, he said.

Investors have gotten too bearish on stocks, with earnings expected to remain robust and the surge in bond yields looking increasingly stretched, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Mislav Matejka.

“Relative equity-market calm amid the bond market’s ‘perfect storm’ is understandable, given accelerating economic growth and the AI boom’s rate insensitivity,” said Lisa Shalett at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.

At Morgan Stanley, Michael Wilson noted that a drop in US stock valuations has left some areas looking attractive as earnings growth shows few signs of waning. The extent of the pullback has created a “better setup” for sectors linked to the economic cycle, he said.

“Equities have room to move higher over the next six to 12 months amid resilient economic growth and robust earnings,” said Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi at UBS Chief Investment Office. “But the path is unlikely to be smooth.”

Elsewhere, US oil dropped below $90. President Donald Trump is preparing to ease limits restricting the use of a tax-exempt variety of diesel, his latest bid to pare costs for the essential fuel.

Corporate Highlights:

SpaceX is proposing to build a natural gas pipeline in Florida to deliver fuel for its Starship rockets launched from Cape Canaveral. Intel Corp. fell after a report on discussions of a potential collaboration between Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Elon Musk’s Terafab initiative, which the US chipmaker joined in April. Cerebras Systems Inc. rallied after OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman said the company is a “close partner,” and the two firms have a deep engagement pushing on the frontiers of speed. Nvidia Corp. partner Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue, signaling sustained and elevated spending on global AI infrastructure. CH Robinson Worldwide Inc. agreed to buy trucking brokerage firm RXO Inc. in a deal centered around a bet that artificial intelligence can help the companies improve efficiency in a challenging freight market. What Bloomberg Strategists say…

“The upcoming earnings season is set to show a continued improvement in breadth, with the S&P 493 on pace to outgrow the Magnificent Seven on earnings for the first time in years.”

—Tatiana Darie, Macro Strategist, Markets Live. For the full analysis, click here.

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

The S&P 500 rose 0.7% as of 4 p.m. New York time The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.9% The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% The MSCI World Index rose 0.5% Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro fell 0.3% to $1.1219 The British pound fell 0.1% to $1.3222 The Japanese yen was little changed at 157.98 per dollar Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin fell 0.1% to $85,705.31 Ether was little changed at $2,707.26 Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced four basis points to 5.31% Germany’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 3.49% Britain’s 10-year yield advanced five basis points to 5.42% Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.1% to $89.20 a barrel Spot gold was little changed ©2026 Bloomberg L.P.