S&P 500 hits record as Apple rallies and oil prices fall

A record-setting open to May widened the gap between Wall Street’s optimism and the pressures still hanging over Main Street. The S&P 500 reached a fresh intraday high and was last up 0.9%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.1% as Apple surged and oil prices slipped, giving investors another lift after an already powerful April.

The move extended a rally that had already carried the S&P 500 to 7,209.01 on April 30, its first close above 7,200, after a 1.02% gain that day. For the month, the broad market index climbed 10.4%, its best April since November 2020, while the Nasdaq rose 15.3%, its strongest month since April 2020. Those gains have boosted retirement accounts and brokerage balances, but they also show how concentrated the market remains, with a handful of mega-cap names doing much of the lifting.

Apple was the biggest spark. The Cupertino company reported fiscal second-quarter revenue of $111.2 billion, up 17% from a year earlier, and diluted earnings per share of $2.01, up 22%. The report arrived as investors digested the first earnings release since Apple said Tim Cook will step down as chief executive, adding a leadership-transition layer to an already closely watched stock. Apple’s rally helped pull the broader market higher again, underscoring how much one company can still influence the major indexes.

Lower oil prices added another boost and offered at least a possible easing in one of the most visible costs for households. Cheaper crude does not automatically translate into lower gasoline prices overnight, but if the drop holds it can help cool fuel and transportation costs. That matters because the Federal Reserve had just left interest rates unchanged at 3.5% to 3.75% and said inflation remained elevated in part because of higher global energy prices. The central bank’s warning is a reminder that rising stocks do not erase the pinch of rent, food and fuel.

Geopolitical worries were still in the background, with investors sensitive to the risk that conflict tied to Iran could disrupt energy markets. For now, traders are leaning into strong earnings, lower oil and the momentum in large technology stocks. The rally has been powerful enough to push indexes to new highs, but it also leaves the market leaning on a narrow group of giants just as households continue to face a far less comfortable economic reality.