S&P 500, Nasdaq Set Fresh Records as AI Rally Counters Oil, Middle East Risks

New York stocks extend AI rally

Major U.S. stock indexes closed at fresh record highs on June 2 as gains in artificial intelligence-related shares offset uncertainty over the Middle East and higher oil prices. Expectations for AI server and semiconductor demand helped all three benchmarks end higher.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 228.91 points, or 0.45%, to 51,307.79 on the New York Stock Exchange.

The S&P 500 added 9.82 points, or 0.13%, to 7,609.78, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 7.09 points, or 0.03%, to 27,093.90.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq extended their winning streaks to nine sessions. Middle East risks and rising oil prices remained a burden, but the AI investment cycle continued to underpin the market.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise was the standout. HPE surged 19.47% after reporting earnings the previous day that beat market expectations on stronger AI server demand.

Chipmaker Marvell Technology jumped 32.52% after Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang said Marvell could become the next company to reach a $1 trillion market capitalization.

Alphabet, Google's parent, fell 3.8% after announcing plans the previous day for an $80 billion share sale to fund AI infrastructure investment.

Berkshire Hathaway's participation in the offering with a $10 billion investment also drew attention. Berkshire had shown caution toward technology investments other than Apple until Warren Buffett stepped down as chief executive at the end of last year.

Oil prices rose as uncertainty persisted over talks between the U.S. and Iran on ending the war.

Brent crude futures settled up 1.1% at $96.00 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate futures rose 1.7% to $93.76 a barrel.

Iran's hard-line Fars News Agency reported that the U.S. and Iran were not currently exchanging messages for negotiations on a memorandum of understanding to end the war. Trump pushed back in a post on Truth Social, calling recent reports that the talks had been halted "fake news."

Labor market data also pointed to resilience. U.S. job openings rose by 731,000 from the previous month to 7.6 million in April, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey released by the Labor Department on June 2.

That was the highest level since 7.78 million in May 2024. The figures suggested the U.S. labor market remained stable despite pressure from higher oil prices.

Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Officer David Solomon said at a public event on June 2 that "we are clearly in a situation where there is more greed than fear."

Hong Min-sung, Hankyung.com reporter mshong@hankyung.com