The stock market finished higher on Friday, capping an eighth straight winning week. This was driven by optimism over potential Middle East peace talks. Treasury yields also eased, with the 10-year yield slipping to 4.55%.
Overall, S&P 500 rose 0.4% to 7,473, while NASDAQ was up 0.2% to 26,344.
Chart of the Day
Here is the one-year chart of Microsoft (MSFT) as of May 4, 2026, when the stock was at $414.
Last quarter, Microsoft delivered 23% profit growth, and beat estimates of 17%, on a 18% increase in revenue. Nice numbers. Growth was driven mainly by sustained momentum in cloud and AI services. Microsoft Cloud and Azure grew 29% and 40% year over year (YoY), respectively. Microsoft also highlighted accelerating AI demand, with its AI business up 123% YoY. Management said that Microsoft remains on track to double its data center capacity within two years.
MSFT is part of the Conservative Growth Portfolio and Growth Portfolio. Software stocks have been weak lately, and Microsoft is a bargain now.
