JUST THE FACTS

Peace talk hopes, ceasefires and gains in tech pushed the Nasdaq and S&P to new records again Friday. The Dow, however, would miss out on the climb, leaving the final results mixed for the day and week.

New developments in the war with Iran, both in the Middle East and back here at home, continue to come out rapidly. For the very latest news on the conflict, and the impacts, updates can be found here.

The topic of artificial intelligence has sat in the shadows since the start of the war, but that would all change late last week. Intel drove a massive surge that made it very clear that the AI boom isn't slowing.

Positive news from the war helped to lift consumer sentiment slightly from April's initial reading. The month's final results, however, were still the lowest on record with surging gas prices mostly to blame.

Consumers remained resilient with their spending last month, but a big chunk of that spending went to higher gas prices. The extra cash spent on fuel drove sales to the biggest monthly jump since 2023.

The incoming week is packed with major news items. The war, of course, will take the lead, but right behind it are the Fed's rate decision, March's PCE inflation data, and earnings reports by five of the Mag7.