US Stock Market Today Live Updates: US stocks edge marginally lower; traders assess inflation data, Mideast developments

Dell Technologies Inc. shares rallied around 7% on Thursday, energized by the announcement that one of its business units secured a massive $9.7 billion defense contract from the Pentagon, just hours before the hardware manufacturer’s first quarter financial results.

The tech giant is slated to release its fiscal first quarter earnings report on Thursday, May 28, immediately following the closing bell. At 12:19 p.m. EDT, Dell shares surged 6.70%, or $20.46, to trade at $325.78.

Wall Street traders sent stocks toward all-time highs, bonds rose while a rally in oil waned on speculation the US and Iran are close to a diplomatic breakthrough in the war that has rattled global markets. Equities erased losses as Axios reported Washington and the Tehran have reached a deal to extend a truce and work toward an agreement to end their conflict.

The S&P 500 headed toward toward a sixth straight day of gains. Brent crude pared its advance to around $94. Treasury yields dropped across the curve. The dollar fell against all of its developed-world peers.

Shares of Snowflake climbed sharply higher in Thursday’s trade, 28 May, after the data analytics firm raised its annual product revenue forecast and announced a five-year AI infrastructure deal worth $6 billion with Amazon Web Services (AWS).

The stock opened the session with a massive gap-up at $237 per share compared to the previous close of $175.26. The momentum further strengthened during the session, with the stock hitting a four-month high of $240 apiece, marking a 38% jump from Wednesday’s closing level.

If the gains sustain through the close, today’s rally would mark the stock’s biggest single-day surge in five years.

Along with its Q1 results, Snowflake also announced an additional $6 billion commitment to Amazon Web Services over the next five years. The agreement includes the use of Amazon’s general-purpose Graviton processor chips, which compete with Intel Corp.’s offerings.

The company said the $6 billion commitment reflects the “accelerating enterprise demand for AI and data workloads running on AWS.” By anchoring future workloads to Amazon’s custom silicon and next-generation infrastructure, Snowflake expects to secure deep volume discounts strategically designed to protect and expand long-term gross margins.

The dollar index fell to 99 on Thursday, retreating from session highs near 99.5, after Axios reported that the US and Iran had reached an agreement to extend the ceasefire, pending approval from President Donald Trump.

The dollar was already under pressure following the release of the latest PCE report, which showed softer-than-expected inflation readings.

The US ​and Iran ‌have reached an ​agreement on ​a 60-day memorandum of ​understanding to extend ​the ceasefire and launch negotiations ​on Iran's nuclear program, ‌but President Donald Trump still needs ​to ​give final approval.

According to Axios, US officials said terms of the deal were mostly agreed to as of Tuesday, but both sides still needed approval from senior leadership.

US officials told the outlet that the Iranians later came back and said they had the necessary approvals and were prepared to sign.

Gold and silver trimmed some of their early losses in Thursday’s trade, May 28, after US inflation data showed a slower-than-estimated rise in April, strengthening expectations that the Federal Reserve may prefer to keep interest rates unchanged rather than pursue further monetary tightening.

Comex gold rebounded by $107 per ounce to the day’s high of $4,502, while silver futures recovered $3.30 to touch an intraday high of $75.23. Earlier in the session, silver had slipped to its lowest level since April 30, while gold fell to levels last seen on March 27.

Data showed that the US personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose 3.8% year-on-year in April. On a monthly basis, the PCE price index increased 0.4% in April after surging 0.7% in March.

Excluding food and energy, core PCE prices rose 0.2% for the month and 3.3% annually, compared with market estimates of 0.3% and 3.3%, respectively.

Renewed attacks in the Persian Gulf lifted oil prices while keeping a lid on stocks and bonds amid mounting concern about the economic fallout of the war-driven spike in energy costs.

While both markets bounced in the immediate aftermath of data showing slower-than-estimated rise in the the Federal Reserve’s preferred price gauge, the report also showed annual inflation accelerating to the highest since 2023.

That wasn’t enough to fuel a material rebound, with equities and Treasuries fluctuating. Brent crude rose to $96, following a decline of more than 5% on Wednesday.

Wall Street was muted as investors assessed inflation data and Mideast peace prospects. All three indices opened with losses of up to 0.3%.

US inflation increased at its fastest pace in three years in April, driven by higher energy prices amid the war with Iran, and cementing economists' views that the Federal Reserve could hold interest rates unchanged well into next year, said a Reuters report.

The personal consumption expenditures price index jumped 3.8% in the 12 months through April, the largest rise since May 2023, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said on Thursday. PCE inflation advanced by an unrevised 3.5% in March.

For the week so far, the S&P 500 is up 0.20%, and if it closes higher, it will mark the index’s longest weekly winning streak since December 2023.

Gold prices hit to a two-month low as fresh strikes by the US and Iran stirred up inflation fears, pushed up the dollar and crude oil, fueling expectations of higher interest rates.

Spot gold was down 1.6% at $4,385.32 per ounce as of 1146 GMT, earlier falling to its lowest level since March 26. U.S. gold futures for June delivery fell 1.4% to $4,383.30.

An “exceptionally strong first-quarter reporting season” prompted Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists led by Ben Snider to raise the year-end target for the S&P 500 to 8,000 points from a previous forecast of 7,600. Goldman joins Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank AG in seeing the benchmark end the year at 8,000 points.

Dow futures were down 53 points, or 0.1%, while S&P 500 futures slipped 0.09% and Nasdaq 100 futures declined 0.21%, signalling a tepid start for Wall Street today.

Rising healthcare and consumer stocks lifted the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Wednesday to a record closing high, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were steady, as investors took a pause from the AI-led rally while cautiously watching Middle East peace talks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 182.60 points, or 0.36%, to 50,644.28, the S&P 500 gained 1.24 points, or 0.02%, to 7,520.36 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 18.55 points, or 0.07%, to 26,674.74.