THE BIG PICTURE
Wall Street closed out April with a bang and carried momentum into May, as the S&P 500 broke above 7,200 for the first time in history and the Nasdaq Composite crossed 25,000. For the week ending May 1, the S&P 500 climbed 0.9% to finish at 7,230.12, while the Nasdaq advanced 1.1% to 25,114.44 — both recording fresh all-time closing highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.5% to close at 49,499.27, and the Russell 2000 ended the week at 2,812.82, continuing its 2026 rebound.
This was the fifth consecutive weekly gain for the S&P 500, and both the S&P and Nasdaq posted their strongest monthly performances since 2020. The VIX (CBOE Volatility Index, a widely followed gauge of expected market turbulence over the next 30 days) settled near 17.0, reflecting a market that remains remarkably calm despite an environment that should, on paper, be far more unsettling.