Cisco leads Wall Street to more records and the Dow back to 50,000
[May 15, 2026] By
STAN CHOE
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market rose to more records Thursday
after Cisco Systems joined the parade of U.S. companies reporting fatter
profits for the start of 2026 than analysts expected.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.8% to set an all-time high for a second straight
day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 370 points, or 0.7%, and
finished above the 50,000 level for the first time since the war with
Iran began, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.9% to its own record.
Cisco helped lead the market after reporting better profit and revenue
for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The tech giant’s stock
leaped 13.4% for its best day in nearly 15 years, and CEO Chuck Robbins
said it saw “very strong, broad-based demand for our products.”
Big Tech behemoths in particular are pouring cash into
artificial-intelligence technology, and Cisco gave a forecast for profit
in the current quarter that easily topped analysts’ expectations.
Such voracious demand for AI, and the big profits it’s producing, have
been major reasons the U.S. stock market has set records throughout this
year. Cerebras Systems, an AI processor company, raised $5.55 billion
after selling its stock in an initial public offering, and its shares
surged 68.1% in their debut on the Nasdaq Thursday.
Corporate earnings reported so far this season have “reinforced that
this is still an AI-led market, but one where the impact is broadening
quickly,” according to Gargi Pal Chaudhuri, chief investment and
portfolio strategist at BlackRock.
“What started with a handful of companies is now driving earnings growth
across semiconductors, infrastructure, and even parts of the industrial
economy,” she said.
Outside of AI, other stocks rallying after delivering
better-than-expected profit reports included StubHub Holdings, up 13.7%,
Viking Holdings, up 5.5% and Yeti Holdings, up 6.2%.
All three companies sell products that aren’t day-to-day essentials,
such as concert tickets, river cruises and insulated water bottles.
Strong results from them could be an indicator that customers are still
willing to spend even though U.S. consumers have been telling surveys
they’re feeling discouraged about the economy.
Whether U.S. households will keep spending and support the economy is a
big question because pressure has been bearing down on them due to high
oil prices and inflation created by the Iran war. A report released
Thursday said that shoppers overall spent less at U.S. retailers last
month than economists expected. But the deceleration after factoring out
gasoline and automobile sales wasn’t quite as bad as economists thought
it would be.
[to top of second column] |
Trader Patrick Casey works on the floor of the New York Stock
Exchange, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
 A separate report, meanwhile, said
more U.S. workers filed for unemployment benefits last week, which
could be an indication of more layoffs. The number, though, remains
relatively low compared with history.
Treasury yields flitted up and down in the bond market immediately
after the reports, but they largely remained steady. The yield on
the 10-year ticked up to 4.47% from 4.46% late Wednesday.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 56.99 points to 7,501.24. The Dow
Jones Industrial Average added 370.26 to 50,063.46, and the Nasdaq
composite climbed 232.88 to 26,635.22.
In stock markets abroad, indexes rose in Europe following a mixed
finish in Asia. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1%, while South Korea’s
Kospi jumped 1.8% to another record thanks to gains for AI-related
stocks.
Stocks were virtually flat in Hong Kong and down 1.5% in Shanghai as
Chinese leader Xi Jinping met with U.S. President Donald Trump in
Beijing.
Some investors hope Trump could encourage Xi to use China’s close
economic ties with Iran to get it to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The strait’s closure because of the war has kept oil tankers pent up
in the Persian Gulf instead of delivering crude to customers
worldwide, which has driven up prices.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international
standard, rose 0.1% to settle at $105.72 Thursday, and it remains
well above its price of roughly $70 from before the war.
___
AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed to this
report.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
