US equity markets closed higher on Friday, May 22, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rising 294 points to close at a record 50,579.70, driven by signs of incremental progress in US-Iran peace negotiations and sustained momentum from a strong corporate earnings season.
The Dow’s 0.58% gain marked its third positive week in four and its highest ever closing level, extending a period of broad market strength that has seen the index recover sharply from the tariff-driven sell-off that characterised the first quarter of 2026.
The S&P 500 rose 0.37% to close at 7,473.47, extending its winning streak to eight consecutive weeks, the longest unbroken run since December 2023 and a reflection of the resilience of US corporate earnings relative to investor expectations.
The Nasdaq Composite gained a more modest 0.19% to finish at 26,343.97, securing its seventh weekly advance in eight weeks despite some drag from large-cap technology names including Nvidia, which fell 1.86% on the session.
Health care was the strongest sector in the S&P 500, rising 1.19%, while technology gained 1.02% and only the communications sector finished in negative territory, declining 0.54%.
Within the Dow, the day’s biggest contributors were Merck, which surged 5.64%, Salesforce, which gained 2.23%, and Cisco Systems, which rose 2.01%, while Amazon fell 0.71% and Walmart declined 0.82%.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil settled little changed at approximately $96.36 per barrel, reflecting the offsetting forces of Iran progress optimism pulling prices lower and ongoing Strait of Hormuz supply disruption supporting them.
Brent crude also rose during the session, adding around 1% to trade above $103 per barrel, though both benchmarks posted meaningful weekly losses as investors priced in the increasing probability of an eventual peace deal.
The Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks outperformed the headline indices, gaining 0.91% to close at 2,869.23, a sign that risk appetite remained healthy beyond the large-cap technology names that have dominated 2026 equity returns.
Market participants are heading into the Memorial Day long weekend with US equities at or near record levels, positioning that reflects growing confidence that the worst of the Iran-related economic shock may be approaching a resolution.
