US stocks rise to records after a solid jobs report overshadows higher
oil prices
[May 09, 2026] By
STAN CHOE
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market rose to records Friday following
the latest sign that the nation’s job market is doing better than
economists expected.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.8% to an all-time high after a report said U.S.
employers added 115,000 more jobs than they cut last month, even though
the war with Iran is raising fuel costs and uncertainty for everyone.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up by 12 points, or less than
0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 1.7% to its own record.
While hiring slowed from March’s level, it was still nearly double what
economists expected. And it helped the S&P 500 close out a sixth
straight winning week, its longest such streak since 2024. The U.S.
stock market has been blasting higher since late March, in part on hopes
that the war will not mean a worst-case scenario for the global economy
and that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen to allow oil tankers to
deliver crude from the Persian Gulf again.
It’s still to be determined if those hopes are warranted or just
wishful. U.S. forces fired on and disabled two Iranian oil tankers on
Friday after exchanging fire with Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz
overnight. It’s the latest flare-up in fighting to raise doubts about
the tenuous month-old ceasefire that the United States has insisted is
still in effect.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil rose 1.2% to settle at $101.29
following the latest volleys of fire. That’s below its heights above
$119 during the war, but it’s still much more expensive than its roughly
$70 level from late February before the fighting began.
One big factor helping to support the U.S. stock market despite the
war’s uncertainties is the strong profits that companies have been
reporting for the start of 2026.
Monster Beverage jumped 13.6% after the energy drink maker joined the
parade of companies topping analysts’ expectations for profit and
revenue for the latest quarter. It benefited from strong growth outside
the United States, and total net sales from there made up about 45% of
its total, the highest percentage ever for the company.
Akamai Technologies leaped even more, 26.6%, after its results squeaked
past expectations. It announced a $1.8 billion deal to provide cloud
infrastructure services to an unnamed client over seven years. The
cybersecurity and cloud computing company is benefiting from the surge
in investment in artificial-intelligence technology.
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Options trader Justin Kanda works on the floor of the New York Stock
Exchange, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
 Voracious demand for AI helped
CoreWeave report revenue for the latest quarter that was more than
double what it was a year earlier, but its net loss was worse than
analysts expected. It also gave a forecasted range for revenue in
the current quarter whose midpoint fell below analysts’
expectations. The stock of the company, which offers AI computing
power to customers over the cloud, fell 11.4%.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 61.82 points to 7,398.93. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average added 12.19 to 49,609.16, and the Nasdaq
composite climbed 440.88 to 26,247.08.
In stock markets abroad, indexes fell across much of Europe and
Asia. Germany’s DAX lost 1.3%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped
0.9% for two of the bigger losses.
South Korea’s Kospi was an exception, and it inched up 0.1% to
another all-time high.
In the bond market, Treasury yields eased and remained lower after a
preliminary report suggested sentiment among U.S. consumers is stuck
near its lowest level since 2022. Consumers told the survey from the
University of Michigan they’re concerned about both high gasoline
prices and tariffs, though their expectations for inflation in the
coming year softened by a bit.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.36% from 4.41% late
Thursday and from 4.45% early this week.
Lower yields can bring down rates for mortgages and other kinds of
loans going to U.S. households and businesses, which in turn can
give the economy a boost. Lower yields also tend to push upward on
prices for stocks and other kinds of investments.
The 10-year Treasury yield, though, remains well above its 3.97%
level from just before the war.
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AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed to this
report.
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