S&P 500 and Nasdaq Hit Record Highs as Rally Narrows to Big Tech

CNBC reported Thursday that the S&P 500 record high above 7,500 marked a historic first close at that level. Both the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 finished the session at all-time peaks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average reclaimed the 50,000 threshold, adding roughly 370 points on the day.

Indexes Post Strong Session as Futures Slip Overnight

The S&P 500 gained 0.8% on Thursday while the Nasdaq advanced 0.9%. Despite those gains, early Friday futures pointed lower. Dow futures dropped around 132 points, or 0.26%. S&P 500 futures declined 0.37% and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.6%. Investors appeared to lock in profits after a strong run.

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A Rally Built on Thin Foundations

Strategists are raising questions about how durable the advance really is. Truist Advisory Services investment chief Keith Lerner told CNBC that the so-called broadening trade has lost momentum. He noted that softer economic conditions are showing up in parts of the market beyond mega-cap technology. The largest tech companies are carrying the bulk of index returns. That concentration leaves the overall rally exposed if sentiment shifts in that narrow group. The S&P 500 is now on pace for seven consecutive weeks of gains, a streak it has not matched since late 2023. The Nasdaq is also eyeing seven straight winning weeks for the first time since October 2024.

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Trade Talks and a Landmark IPO in Focus

Investor attention is also fixed on the two-day U.S.-China summit wrapping up Friday. The talks cover trade policy, tariffs, Iran, and Taiwan. One early signal emerged Thursday when both sides agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to shipping. Markets will watch for any broader trade framework to emerge from the summit’s conclusion.

On the corporate front, Elon Musk‘s SpaceX is preparing to release its IPO prospectus as soon as next week. The company quietly filed confidential IPO paperwork in April. The offering is expected to rank among the largest share sales on record. Separately, AI chipmaker Cerebras saw its shares climb around 6% in after-hours trade, extending gains following its recent public markets debut. Semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials also rose roughly 2% after hours, posting fiscal second-quarter earnings of $2.86 per share that beat analyst estimates on both revenue and profit.

Asia-Pacific markets retreated Friday, with South Korea’s Kospi pulling back from a fresh record above 8,000 and Japan’s Nikkei 225 declining 0.9%.

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