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Technologuy stocks helped lead the stock market higher on Friday, alongside a very positive April jobs report.
First-quarter earnings have been outstanding, with 84% of reporting companies beating estimates.
As we head into summer, Wall Street will be focused on events in Iran, oil prices, and any inflation indicators.
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Futures are trading mixed as we get set to start the new trading week, as reports indicate that President Trump declined Iran's counteroffer for peace. This comes after a remarkable Friday, when stocks roared to record highs, driven primarily by a stronger-than-expected April jobs report that eased economic concerns and by a rally in technology and chip stocks. The S&P 500 rose 0.8% to close the session at 7,398 and notched its longest winning streak since 2024, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.7% and finished the day at 26,247, both marking their sixth consecutive week of gains. The legacy Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a small gain to close at 49,609, while the small-cap-heavy Russell 2000 was last seen at 2,861, up 0.71%. Earnings for the first quarter, which have been outstanding, are all but over, and Wall Street's focus will remain on oil prices, the war in Iran, and any indications that inflation is edging higher.
After briefly touching the 5% and higher level for long-dated Treasury bonds early last week, the buyers were once again the story on Friday as yields acros the curve were lower. The solid job numbers were cited as the reason buyers were looking past the inflationary implications of higher oil prices and increased Treasury borrowing. The 30-year long bond was last seen at 4.94% while the benchmark 10-year note finished the day at 4.36%.
A modest uptick in oil prices was among Friday's few negatives. Analysts pointed to fresh military hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz, where U.S. and Iranian forces traded fire, putting the already fragile ceasefire at risk and stoking fears that supply flows through the vital Middle Eastern shipping lane could be disrupted for longer than anticipated. Brent Crude was last seen at $101.30, up 1.23%, while West Texas Intermediate finished the session at $95.42, up 0.64%. Natural gas closed Friday at $2.75, down 0.43%.
Gold moved in lockstep with stocks and bonds on Friday, capping one of its strongest weeks in recent memory. The precious metal settled at $4,713, its highest close since April 22, and logged a weekly gain of more than 2%, lifted by growing optimism that a U.S.-Iran peace deal could take shape and relieve the inflation pressure that has kept rate-cut hopes at bay. That backdrop is worth keeping in mind: gold had shed more than 10% since the war broke out in late February, dragged lower by surging oil prices that fanned inflation fears and pushed back expectations for easier monetary policy. At the margin, Friday's bounce looks more like a peace-driven relief rally than a classic flight to safety. Silver also closed higher, and was last seen Friday at $80.22, up 2.47%.
Crypto markets pulled back Friday as momentum stalled following a recent surge. Bitcoin slipped to around $80,000, down 0.8% on the day, a modest retreat, but enough to signal cooling sentiment across the board with major assets like Ethereum, Solana, and XRP also trailing off their weekly highs. At 8 AM EDT, Bitcoin was trading at $81,131, while Ethereum was quoted at $2,334.
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Here are some of the top Wall Street analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen on Monday, May 11, 2026.
NatWest Group (NYSE: NWG) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at BNP Paribas, with an $18.20 target price.
News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWSA) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Macquarie, with a $29.40 target price.
Pitney Bowes (NYSE: PBI) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Bank of America, which raised the price target to $16.50 from $9.50.
Primoris Services (NYSE: PRIM) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Mizuho, which lowered the target price for the stock to $135 from $175.
Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Phillip Securities, with a $139 target price.
Dell Technologies (NYSE: DELL) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS, with a $243 target price for the stock, up from $167.
Healthpeak Properties (NYSE: DOC) was downgraded to Inline from Outperform at Evercore ISI, which nudged the price target for the stock to $21 from $20.
HubSpot (NYSE: HUBS) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Macquarie, which slashed the target price for the stock to $190 from $350.
Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD) was cut to Reduce from Hold at HSBC with a $20 target price.
Wendy's (NYSE: WEN) was cut to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan, which trimmed the target price for the fast-food favorite to $6 from $7.
BioMarin Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ: BMRN) was reinstated with a Neutral rating at Goldman Sachs, which has a $69 target price.
BridgeBio Oncology Therapeutics (NASDAQ: BBOT) was started with a Buy rating at Canaccord, with a $23 price target.
Coherus Oncology (NASDAQ: CHRS) was started with a Buy rating at Guggenheim, with a $12 target price.
Klarna Group (NYSE: KLAR) was initiated with a Hold rating at TD Cowen, and has a $16 target price for the shares.
Oklo (NYSE: OKLO) was started with a Neutral rating at JPMorgan, which has set an $83 target for the stock.
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