S&P 500 Notches 10th Gain in 11 Days as Oil Drop Lifts Dow to Record

The Dow surged 874 points to an all-time high as falling oil prices and easing Treasury yields boosted banks and small-caps while AI chipmakers Broadcom and Micron weighed on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 rose 0.4% for its 10th gain in the last 11 days, a day after dropping from its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 874 points (1.7%) to a record and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.1%.

Stocks got a lift from a 2.8% drop for the price of Brent crude oil to $95.03 per barrel. That gave back a chunk of its rise from this week caused by the latest flare-ups of fighting between Iran and the United States and its allies. Stocks of smaller companies helped lead the way, and the Russell 2000 index of the smallest U.S. stocks jumped 1.4%. They can reap the biggest benefits of falling interest rates, and the yield on the 10-year Treasury dipped to 4.47% from 4.49% late Wednesday as oil prices sank. Reports on the U.S. economy meanwhile came in mixed. One said that slightly more U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week which could indicate a slowdown in the relatively solid U.S. job market.

Lower yields can make it less expensive for companies to borrow cash which many smaller companies need to do to grow. Banks also helped lead the market, including gains of 5% for Goldman Sachs, 4.7% for Fifth Third Bancorp and 4.4% for U.S. Bancorp. They helped to more than make up for losses by some AI stocks which took a sudden back seat after dominating the market. Reports on the U.S. economy, meanwhile, came in mixed. One said that slightly more U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, which could indicate a slowdown in the relatively solid U.S. job market.

Broadcom sank 12.6%, even though both profit and revenue for the chip company surpassed analysts? expectations. CEO Hock Tan said its AI semiconductor revenue more than doubled to $10.8 billion during the quarter and that demand is only getting bigger. He is forecasting AI semiconductor growth to top 200% in the current quarter. Investors, though, may have wanted even more after Broadcom?s stock came into the day with a 38.5% surge for the year so far. That towered over the already strong 10.3% rise for the S&P 500 index and Broadcom has grown to become one of Wall Street?s largest and most influential stocks. Micron Technology the latest company to see its total value top $1 trillion because of AI euphoria, fell 7.7%.

CrowdStrike Holdings dropped 3.8% even though the cybersecurity company?s profit and revenue for the latest quarter topped analysts? expectations. CEO George Kurtz said the latest quarter was when ?the worlds of cyber-security and frontier AI collided,? and the company said it?s splitting its stock to make its share price more affordable.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose in Europe following a weaker finish in Asia. South Korea?s Kospi fell 1.8%, Hong Kong?s Hang Seng dropped 1.5% and Japan?s Nikkei 225 fell 1.4% for some of the larger losses.

Treasury yields fell on Thursday as investors await more key data on the U.S. employment picture while renewed hopes for a Middle East ceasefire sent energy costs lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note ? the main benchmark for mortgages, auto loans and credit card debt ? slipped 2 bps to 4.47%.

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