Nasdaq Index: Tech Stocks Surge as Dell Fuels Record Highs Forecast

Nasdaq Hits Another Record as Dell Leads Tech Higher

The Nasdaq Composite Index (IXIC) hit a fresh all-time high at 27094.80 Friday at midday. The S&P 500 gained 0.34%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average outperformed everything with a 370-point gain, up 0.73%.

All three indexes reached intraday records during the session. West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell to around $86 a barrel. Spot Brent crude oil dropped near $91. Oil down, tech up, and May is closing out with the Nasdaq sharply higher for the month along with the S&P 500 up about 5%, and the Dow adding around 2%.

Did Dell Just Confirm the AI Spending Story Is Real?

Dell Technologies surged nearly 30% and pulled the entire enterprise computing group with it. The company beat on earnings and revenue and then raised full-year guidance to adjusted earnings per share of $17.90 and revenue between $165 billion and $169 billion. Both numbers well above what analysts had. Companies do not raise full-year guidance unless the orders are sitting in front of them.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise jumped more than 14% on the Dell results. Super Micro Computer gained nearly 12%. HP rose approximately 8%. One earnings report and four stocks moved hard. Micron Technology climbed about 5%, putting it up about 86% for May. Qualcomm gained roughly 2%. Qualcomm has gained nearly 39% for the month. The AI infrastructure trade is not tired. It is accelerating into month end.

Who Else Won and Who Got Hit?

Okta surged after raising revenue guidance and beating on earnings. NetApp climbed on upbeat guidance and a clean beat. PagerDuty gained after raising its full-year earnings outlook. Three software names. All up 25% or more. The buyers are not hesitating even at these lofty price levels.

American Eagle Outfitters fell on weaker comparable sales and disappointing guidance. Gap dropped more than 17% after lowering its full-year sales outlook. The earnings beat did not matter because the forward guidance killed it. Retail is telling a different story than tech right now. The consumer is not spending the same way.

AST SpaceMobile tumbled nearly 17% after a Blue Origin rocket exploded during a ground test in Florida. Rocket Lab fell more than 6%. EchoStar declined over 3%. One explosion and the entire space sector took damage.

Daily Nasdaq Composite Index (IXIC) Technical Analysis

The Nasdaq Composite Index (IXIC) uptrend continued on Friday with the market making another all-time high at 27094.80. With no resistance in sight, all we can watch is the momentum. We want to continue to see strong follow-through rallies to show us that new money is driving the price action. This puts our focus on the closing price.

The key number to watch into the close is 26917.47. Holding above this point will increase the odds of the rally continuing next week. A close below this level will indicate traders are taking profits or that perhaps the selling is greater than the buying at current price levels.

If we turn lower late in the session and we get the lower close, then the rolling pivot at 26398.12 will come into play. The reversal top will not be a change in trend, but rather the process of alleviating some of the upside pressure. The trend won’t start to weaken until the IXIC takes out a swing bottom. The closest swing bottom is 25701.44 so the trend appears to be safe at this time.

Did the Fed Just Take Rate Hikes Off the Table?

Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman pushed back on rate hike fears Friday. She said temporary energy price spikes have not historically justified aggressive policy action. The timing matters because rate hike concerns were building all week. The April Personal Consumption Expenditures index showed inflation at 3.8% year-over-year. That is above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. But Bowman pointed to alternative inflation measures that strip out the biggest price swings and said those readings are running much closer to target.

She said the Fed will keep watching Iran and energy markets but any policy response depends on whether higher inflation becomes persistent. That word matters. Persistent means the Fed is not going to react to a one-month oil spike. If energy prices keep falling on the ceasefire progress, the inflation number does the Fed’s work for it. Bowman gave the market exactly what it needed to hear heading into the weekend.

Does June Pick Up Where May Left Off?

Oil is falling. The ceasefire framework is holding. The Federal Reserve just pushed back on rate hikes. Tech earnings are not just beating. They are raising guidance. Dell raised full-year numbers. Four other tech names surged 25% or more on the same session. That is not a market running out of steam. That is a market getting told to keep going.

The key number into the close is 26917.47 on the Nasdaq Composite Index. A hold above that level says the rally continues into next week. A close below it says traders are taking profits heading into the weekend and the rolling pivot at 26398.12 becomes the first target. But with the Nasdaq up 8% in May, oil dropping below $87, and a Fed governor telling the market rate hikes are not coming on a temporary energy spike, the path of least resistance is still higher. Sellers need a catalyst and the last trading day of May is not giving them one.

More Information in our Economic Calendar.