Cisco Leads Wall Street to More Records05/14 15:25

   The U.S. stock market rose to more records Thursday after Cisco Systems 
joined the parade of U.S. companies reporting fatter profits for the start of 
2026 than analysts expected.

   NEW YORK (AP) -- The U.S. stock market rose to more records Thursday after 
Cisco Systems joined the parade of U.S. companies reporting fatter profits for 
the start of 2026 than analysts expected.

   The S&P 500 climbed 0.8% to set an all-time high for a second straight day. 
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 370 points, or 0.7%, and finished above 
the 50,000 level for the first time since the war with Iran began, while the 
Nasdaq composite added 0.9% to its own record.

   Cisco helped lead the market after reporting better profit and revenue for 
the latest quarter than analysts expected. The tech giant's stock leaped 13.4% 
for its best day in nearly 15 years, and CEO Chuck Robbins said it saw "very 
strong, broad-based demand for our products."

   Big Tech behemoths in particular are pouring cash into 
artificial-intelligence technology, and Cisco gave a forecast for profit in the 
current quarter that easily topped analysts' expectations.

   Such voracious demand for AI, and the big profits it's producing, have been 
major reasons the U.S. stock market has set records throughout this year. 
Cerebras Systems, an AI processor company, raised $5.55 billion after selling 
its stock in an initial public offering, and its shares surged 68.1% in their 
debut on the Nasdaq Thursday.

   Corporate earnings reported so far this season have "reinforced that this is 
still an AI-led market, but one where the impact is broadening quickly," 
according to Gargi Pal Chaudhuri, chief investment and portfolio strategist at 
BlackRock.

   "What started with a handful of companies is now driving earnings growth 
across semiconductors, infrastructure, and even parts of the industrial 
economy," she said.

   Outside of AI, other stocks rallying after delivering better-than-expected 
profit reports included StubHub Holdings, up 13.7%, Viking Holdings, up 5.5% 
and Yeti Holdings, up 6.2%.

   All three companies sell products that aren't day-to-day essentials, such as 
concert tickets, river cruises and insulated water bottles. Strong results from 
them could be an indicator that customers are still willing to spend even 
though U.S. consumers have been telling surveys they're feeling discouraged 
about the economy.

   Whether U.S. households will keep spending and support the economy is a big 
question because pressure has been bearing down on them due to high oil prices 
and inflation created by the Iran war. A report released Thursday said that 
shoppers overall spent less at U.S. retailers last month than economists 
expected. But the deceleration after factoring out gasoline and automobile 
sales wasn't quite as bad as economists thought it would be.

   A separate report, meanwhile, said more U.S. workers filed for unemployment 
benefits last week, which could be an indication of more layoffs. The number, 
though, remains relatively low compared with history.

   Treasury yields flitted up and down in the bond market immediately after the 
reports, but they largely remained steady. The yield on the 10-year ticked up 
to 4.47% from 4.46% late Wednesday.

   On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 56.99 points to 7,501.24. The Dow Jones 
Industrial Average added 370.26 to 50,063.46, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 
232.88 to 26,635.22.

   In stock markets abroad, indexes rose in Europe following a mixed finish in 
Asia. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1%, while South Korea's Kospi jumped 1.8% to 
another record thanks to gains for AI-related stocks.

   Stocks were virtually flat in Hong Kong and down 1.5% in Shanghai as Chinese 
leader Xi Jinping met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Beijing.

   Some investors hope Trump could encourage Xi to use China's close economic 
ties with Iran to get it to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The strait's closure 
because of the war has kept oil tankers pent up in the Persian Gulf instead of 
delivering crude to customers worldwide, which has driven up prices.

   The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 
0.1% to settle at $105.72 Thursday, and it remains well above its price of 
roughly $70 from before the war.