Wall Street pushes to more records as profits keep piling up for US
companies
[May 29, 2026] By
STAN CHOE
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market pushed to more records Thursday as
profits keep piling up for companies like Dollar Tree, Snowflake and
Hormel Foods. A tentative deal to extend the ceasefire in the war with
Iran by 60 days also helped lift the market and rein in oil prices.
The S&P 500 added 0.6% to its all-time high set the day before after
drifting between small gains and losses in the morning. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average rose 24 points, or less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq
composite climbed 0.9% as both indexes also set records.
Stocks turned higher after oil prices gave back most of their own
morning gains following reports of the tentative U.S.-Iran agreement,
which still needs President Donald Trump’s approval. The price for a
barrel of benchmark U.S. crude oil settled at $88.90 after regressing
from an overnight high above $92.50.
Oil prices have been swinging as hopes rise and fall that the United
States and Iran may reach a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and get
crude flowing again from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide. They
have climbed enough that a report on Thursday showed a measure of U.S.
inflation accelerated last month to its worst level in three years,
roughly matching economists’ expectations.
Even with worries about expensive oil and high inflation, the U.S. stock
market has run to records largely because U.S. companies keep making
more money. Stock prices tend to follow the path of corporate profits
over the long term, and companies have been routinely topping analysts’
expectations for the first three months of 2026.
Dollar Tree’s stock soared 17.9% after it became the latest to report
fatter profit than analysts expected. CEO Mike Creedon said improved
store conditions helped the retailer make more profit off each $1 in
sales during the latest quarter despite tariffs adding to its costs. The
company also gave a forecast for profit over the full year that topped
analysts’ expectations.
Kohl’s rallied 20.6% after the retailer reported better results for the
latest quarter than analysts had feared, while Best Buy climbed 15.8%
following its own better-than-expected profit report. Hormel Foods
climbed 12.5% after a strong performance for its Jennie-O ground turkey
and exports of Spam luncheon meat helped it report a better profit than
analysts expected.
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Trader Robert Arciero works on the floor of the New York Stock
Exchange, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
 Snowflake rose 36.5% after saying
artificial intelligence continues to be a strong driver for its
business, and profit and revenue for the latest quarter exceeded
expectations.
They helped offset a dip for Salesforce, which fell 0.8% even though
it also reported a better profit for the latest quarter than
analysts expected. Its stock has been under pressure because of
worries that AI-powered rivals could steal away its business, even
as Salesforce touts its own AI offerings.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 43.27 points to 7,563.63. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average added 24.69 to 50,668.97, and the Nasdaq
composite climbed 242.74 to 26,917.47.
In the bond market, Treasury yields eased after oil prices gave up
much of their gains and reduced the upward pressure on inflation.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.45% from 4.48% late
Wednesday.
High yields in bond markets worldwide recently have threatened to
slow economies and undercut prices for stocks and all kinds of other
investments. High yields have already forced the average long-term
U.S. mortgage rate to its most expensive level in nine months, and
they could curtail companies’ borrowing to build the AI data centers
that have supported the U.S. economy’s growth recently.
A report on Thursday said the pace of sales of new U.S. homes
unexpectedly slowed last month, as higher mortgage rates weighed on
the housing market.
In stock markets abroad, indexes dipped across much of Europe and
Asia. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.3% for one of the world’s larger
losses.
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AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.
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