S&P500, Nasdaq At Record Highs, Dow Regains 50,000 level — AAPL, BA, CSCO, NVDA, CBRS, F In Focus

• Technology stocks led broader market gains, with Nvidia hovering near the $6 trillion market-cap level.  
• U.S. April retail sales grew for the third straight month. 
• Cisco’s 13% jump following strong management commentary aided the Dow. 

U.S. stock indices rose on Thursday as strong corporate earnings, along with a revival of the broader AI theme play, aided investor sentiment, while strong retail sales numbers provided confidence that soaring inflation has not hurt market demand. 

The Dow Jones index popped 370.26 points, or 0.75%, to end at 50,063.46. The S&P 500 climbed 0.77% and closed at 7,501.24, while the Nasdaq gained 0.88% to 26,635.22. 

Among ETFs tracking benchmark indexes, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), and SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) ended Thursday around 1% higher.

Meanwhile, retail sentiment on Stocktwits for SPY, QQQ, and DIA was all in the ‘bullish’ territory. 

US Market Drivers

Technology stocks led broader market gains, owing to strong earnings commentary from Cisco and a stellar market debut by Nvidia rival Cerebras, while Nvidia itself hovered around the $6 trillion market cap mark. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) advanced 1%. 

U.S. retail sales rose 0.5% month-on-month in April, the third consecutive month of rising sales, which aided market sentiment by showing consumer demand remains resilient despite rising inflation pressures and elevated interest rates.  

“April retail sales echoed what we’ve heard across corporate conference calls for weeks now: The US consumer remains resilient despite soaring gas prices,” said Bret Kenwell, an analyst at eToro, told Bloomberg. “When it comes to stocks though, tech is in the driver’s seat right now, not the consumer.” 

Inflation pressure is mounting. Earlier this week, the producer price index rose 6% from a year ago, topping all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The monthly advance was also the sharpest since 2022. A core measure increased 5.2% from April 2025 — the most in more than three years.

Trending Stocks To Watch

Apple (AAPL): Apple shares eased marginally from their record highs after media reports suggested OpenAI is considering suing the iPhone maker over the way ChatGPT was integrated within Apple’s mobile ecosystem.

Boeing (BA): Boeing shares dropped as investors were left unsatisfied with the 200 jet order from China, as the market had hoped for around 500, while a few investors raised concerns over the firm’s ability to complete the orders.   

Ford (F): Shares of Ford Motor rose as upbeat Street action focused on the automaker’s expanding energy storage business reignited investor optimism. 

Cisco (CSCO): Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) shares soared to an all-time high on Thursday after the company’s third-quarter results and fiscal year 2026 forecast blew past Wall Street expectations. 

Nvidia (NVDA): Nvidia hovered near its $6 trillion market cap after the U.S. cleared around 10 Chinese firms to buy Nvidia's second-most powerful AI chip, the H200, Reuters reported. 

Cerebras (CBRS): Nvidia (NVDA) rival Cerebras (CBRS) debuted on the Nasdaq Thursday morning at an 89% premium to its IPO price. The stock ended its first trading session 68% higher. 

Broader Market Trends 

Global oil prices continued their upward trajectory today, with Brent crude holding firm above $105 per barrel. The International Energy Agency’s warning on Wednesday that global oil supply could remain below demand for the remainder of 2026 due to ongoing disruptions in the Middle East and restrictions on tanker movement through the Strait of Hormuz is keeping the floor under prices.  

The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond remained elevated above the 5% threshhold, its highest level since 2007, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield hovered around 4.45%.  Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, fell as investors continue to process the impact of soaring crude prices on inflation, currently at a three-year high of 3.8%. 

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