Wall Street closed broadly higher on Thursday, May 14, 2026, with all four major indices finishing in the green as investor confidence held firm heading into the back half of the week. The S&P 500 gained 0.79% to close at 7,489.18, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.74% to 49,764.5. The Nasdaq added 0.71% to finish at 26,128.38, and the small-cap Russell 2000 climbed 0.63% to 2,833.12 — a sign that the rally had broad participation beyond just mega-cap tech.
Nvidia was the undisputed star of the session, surging 4.39% to $235.74 and acting as the locomotive that pulled the Nasdaq and S&P 500 higher. The chipmaker's continued ascent reflects the market's unwavering appetite for artificial intelligence infrastructure, with institutional money flowing steadily into the name.
Not every mega-cap participated in the celebration. Amazon gave back ground, falling 1.08% to $267.22, as traders showed a preference for hardware and semiconductors over cloud-platform and retail-adjacent stories. The relative weakness in Amazon was a minor drag but did little to dampen the overall tone.
Gold remained elevated at $4,665.13, underscoring a market that is simultaneously risk-on in equities and defensive in hard assets — a nuanced backdrop that suggests investors are optimistic but not complacent.