AI and Tech-Driven Market Rally Retained Upward Bias, Overlooking Middle East Uncertainties

Barry Adams
28 May, 2026
New York City

Stocks on Wall Street hovered around the flatline, as investors reviewed the latest events in the Middle East and reacted to corporate news. 

The S&P 500 Index decreased 0.1%, and the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite declined 0.3%; and they had closed at new record highs in the previous session. 

The last two months' rally has lifted AI- and semiconductor-related stocks to new record highs, and computer memory chipmakers have more than doubled as these companies are deemed to be key beneficiaries of the AI investment cycle.

Investors monitored the developments in the Middle East, as the U.S. confirmed it carried out fresh airstrikes in Iran overnight, targeting military sites. 

Iran said it will step up its attacks on U.S. military bases in the Gulf region as Kuwait, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia braced for more drone and missile attacks. 

The West Texas Intermediate crude oil price soared 1.8% to $90.24 per barrel, and the Brent crude oil price increased 1.9% to $96.04 per barrel. 

On the economic front, the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index advanced 0.4% in April, following a 0.7% monthly rise in the previous month. 

The annual increase in the alternative measure of inflation accelerated to 3.8%, following a rise of 3.5% in March, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. 

The core PCE Index, which excludes food and energy, accelerate to 3.3% from 3.2%, confirming the highest reading since late 2023. 

Overall, the report reinforced that inflationary pressures remain elevated and significantly above the Federal Reserve's target rate of 2%. 

 

U.S. Movers 

Marvell Technology decreased 2.8% to $193.24 after the semiconductor company reported financial results for its fiscal first quarter ending on May 3.

Net revenues increased 28% to $2.4 billion from $1.9 billion, net income dropped to $34.5 million from $177.9 million, and diluted earnings per share eased to 4 cents from 20 cents a year ago. 

"We expect revenue growth to continue accelerating each quarter throughout fiscal 2027, driven by continued strength in our data center business,” said Matt Murphy, Marvell’s chairman and CEO.

The company raised its fiscal 2027 and 2028 guidance, "driven by strong demand across a broad set of Marvell solutions," including Ethernet switches and optical interconnect solutions. 

The company guided fiscal second quarter revenue of $2.7 billion and diluted net income per share of 37 cents.

Snowflake Inc. soared 37% to $240.25 after the company posted its quarterly results and inked a long-term cloud infrastructure partnership deal with Amazon's AWS unit. 

Net revenues in the fiscal first quarter, ending in April, rose 33% to $1.4 billion from $1.1 billion; net loss shrank to $295.6 million from $430.1 million; and diluted loss per share decreased to 86 cents from $1.29 a year ago.

The company estimated product revenue for the fiscal second quarter to range between $1.415 billion and $1.420 billion and for the full year to rise 31% to $5.84 billion, higher than the previous estimate of $5.66 billion. 

Kohl's Corp. soared 11% to $14.31 after the retailer posted a narrower-than-expected loss in the fiscal first quarter. 

Best Buy Company jumped 8.9% to $69.99 after the electronics retailer reported better-than-expected fiscal first quarter results. 

Comparable sales advanced 2% from a year ago, and the specialty retailer reaffirmed its annual outlook.

Dollar Tree jumped 13% to $108.18 after the deep-discount retailer reported fiscal first-quarter results ending on May 2. 

The company reiterated its current quarter and full-year sales estimates. 

Net revenues increased 7.2% to $5 billion from $4.6 billion, net income increased to $347.3 million from $343.4 million, and diluted earnings per share rose to $1.76 from $1.61 a year ago. 

The company expects net sales from continuing operations for the second quarter to range from $4.8 billion to $4.9 billion, based on comparable store net sales growth in the range of 2.5% to 3.5%. 

The company guided full-year 2026 sales to fall between $20.5 billion and $20.7 billion and adjusted diluted earnings per share between $6.70 and $7.10.