Wall Street closed out its sixth straight weekly winning streak on Friday, with both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite finishing at all-time highs after a stronger-than-expected April jobs report reinforced confidence in the resilience of the US economy and a flood of positive technology earnings provided the momentum needed to carry markets to new peaks despite the ongoing shadow of the US-Iran conflict.
The S&P 500 advanced 0.84% to close at 7,398.93, while the Nasdaq Composite surged 1.71% to 26,247.08, both recording fresh intraday and closing records during the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average [NYSE: DJI] was the outlier, adding just 12.19 points or 0.02% to settle at 49,609.16 as gains in Cisco Systems and Boeing were offset by losses in Salesforce and McDonald’s.
The week’s cumulative performance was driven heavily by technology. The Nasdaq climbed 4.5% over the five sessions while the S&P 500 gained 2.3%, with the S&P 500’s technology sector advancing more than 3.27% on Friday alone. The breadth of participation was notable, with over half the tech sector advancing and Micron Technology [NASDAQ: MU] and Sandisk among the standout performers on the session.
The April nonfarm payrolls report provided an important positive signal for market participants who had worried that the economic consequences of the Iran conflict and elevated energy prices would begin to show up in the labour market. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that employers added 115,000 jobs in April, well ahead of the 65,000 consensus expectation, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%. The result served to quell fears of a rapid economic deterioration.
“The economy is so much better than what the doom crew has been saying,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management. “There are a lot of headwinds — higher oil prices, sticky inflation and higher-for-longer interest rates — and yet the labor market is adding jobs, GDP is growing and corporate profits are expanding at a rapid pace.”
Corporate earnings have been central to the market’s sustained climb. The blended net profit margin for the S&P 500 in the first quarter of 2026 reached 13.4%, the highest level recorded since FactSet began tracking the metric in 2009, surpassing the prior record of 13.2% set in the fourth quarter of 2025. The information technology sector posted a Q1 net margin of 29.1%, up from 25.4% a year earlier.
Oil markets provided a measure of relief heading into the weekend, with Brent crude stabilising around $100 per barrel after earlier volatility. Traders continue to monitor US-Iran ceasefire negotiations closely, with geopolitical developments capable of moving oil and equity markets sharply in either direction. JPMorgan economists cautioned clients that supply buffers protecting the market from the full impact of the Hormuz disruption are gradually eroding.
