U.S. stocks pushed to fresh all-time highs Thursday as a 14% surge in Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) and renewed AI infrastructure buying powered a broad-based tech rally, lifting the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 to new records and pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly above 50,000 for the first time.
The S&P 500 advanced 0.9% to 7,514, a fresh record, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 432 points, or 0.9%, to 50,126 as Cisco's gains and a 4.5% rip in Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) propelled the blue-chip gauge.
The Nasdaq 100 climbed 0.8% to a fresh record at 29,598, with strength concentrated in semiconductors. Within Magnificent Seven stocks, Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) surged 4.5% to $235.93, on pace for its seventh straight session of gains and topping $5.7 trillion in market capitalization.
The 10-year Treasury yield slipped 2 basis points to 4.45% after touching its highest level since July in the prior session, while the 30-year yield eased 4 basis points to 5.00% and the 2-year held at 3.99%.
Money markets now fully price out any Fed rate cut in 2026 and assign roughly a 28% probability to a 25 basis-point December hike, a remarkable reversal after April CPI of 3.8% and the hottest PPI print since 2022.
Crude oil eased modestly from recent highs, with WTI hovering around $100.65 a barrel and Brent at roughly $104.66.
On the macro tape, April retail sales rose 0.5% month-over-month in line with expectations, while the control-group reading – the input directly into GDP – also gained 0.5%, beating the 0.4% consensus and reinforcing the resilient-consumer narrative.
Initial jobless claims climbed to 211,000 versus 205,000 expected, while April import prices surged 1.9% – the most since March 2022 – driven by a 19% jump in petroleum costs tied to the Iran conflict.
Markets also digested Wednesday's narrow Senate confirmation of Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve chair.
Thursday's Performance In Major US Indices
| Index | Last | % Change |
|---|
| S&P 500 | 7,514.26 | +0.9% |
| Dow Jones | 50,125.61 | +0.9% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 29,597.93 | +0.8% |
| Russell 2000 | 2,871.10 | +1.0% |
Updated by 12:35 p.m. ET
According to market data:
Cisco Ignites Tech Rally
Technology dominated the leaderboard, with the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) jumping 1.7% to lead all S&P 500 sectors, fueled by Cisco's blowout print and the U.S. easing chip export curbs to China.
The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLC) added 0.9% and the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) gained 0.9%, while the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) advanced 0.7%.
On the downside, the Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLB) slipped 0.4% as the stronger dollar weighed on commodity-linked names.
Cisco was the standout gainer after the networking giant late Wednesday delivered upside earnings and forecasts and unveiled plans to cut roughly 4,000 jobs as it pivots harder toward AI infrastructure.
Cisco's lift dragged peers higher and helped reinforce the AI-cycle narrative that has driven the Nasdaq's 12.9% month-to-date gain.
Nvidia extended its run, with Broadcom rising in sympathy after the Trump administration cleared 10 Chinese firms to purchase Nvidia's H200 accelerators – a notable de-escalation in the U.S.-China chip skirmish unveiled as Jensen Huang, Tim Cook, Elon Musk and Larry Fink accompanied the president to Beijing for the bilateral summit.
On the downside, semiconductor names that had ridden the AI melt-up saw profit-taking. QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) extended its post-guidance slide with a 4.5% drop.
The strongest single-stock move in the Russell 1000 was Fermi Inc. (FRMI), which jumped 24.3% as the nuclear-and-AI-data-center developer rallied into its earnings event.
Mobile-gaming and ad-tech outperformer AppLovin Corp. (APP) climbed 5.7% as investors continued to digest its Q1 beat – revenue of $1.84 billion and EPS of $3.56 – with bullish commentary around an upcoming public launch of its AXON ad platform driving analyst upgrades and target hikes.
Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. (ODFL) surged 5.8% to record territory after management signaled that the long-running freight recession may finally be ending. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (KNX) ripped 13.3% and Schneider National Inc. (SNDR) rallied 11.0%.
The session's worst move belonged to Doximity Inc. (DOCS), which plunged 23.3% after the medical-network operator reported fiscal Q4 EPS of $0.26 versus $0.28 consensus.
In the crypto space, Strategy Inc. (MSTR) jumped 8% after Chairman Michael Saylor confirmed another 535 BTC buy, extending Strategy's monthly bounce above 40%.
