Quick Read: Positive meetings in China for the President and an old school tech giant posting huge earnings helped lead a big rally Thursday. With first-quarter earnings all but complete, investors will be watching the economic data for additional signs of inflation, like we saw earlier this week. The possibility of a SpaceX prospectus arriving next week, and a huge IPO tech stock success, were also strong tailwinds for stocks on Thursday This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them. ​ Pre-Market Stock Futures: Futures are trading sharply lower as we get set to end one of the most exciting weeks on Wall Street in 25 years. Positive meetings in China with President Trump, who brought his CEO contingent and Elon Musk, and President Xi, massive upside earnings and forward guidance from an OG tech and legacy giant Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO | CSCO Price Prediction), and some new all-time highs paved the way for a big Thursday. When all the dust settled, all of the major indices finished the day higher, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average blew through 50,000 to finish up 0.75% at 50,063, while the S&P 500 captured its first close above 7500, at 7,501, up 0.77%. The Nasdaq printed another sparkling day, last seen up 0.88% at 26,635, and the small-cap-heavy Russell 2000 finished the session strong, closing at 2,863, up 0.67%. Treasury Bonds: Yields were mixed across the Treasury curve as bond traders, still smarting from the double-whammy inflation reports this week, were sellers of the 1 to 10-year maturities and modest buyers of the very short and long end of the curve. The 30-year long bond closed the day at 5.03% while the 10-year note was last seen at 4.49%. That level for the 10-year is getting close to a yield where we at 24/7 Wall St. think investors could get very interested in government debt. We would likely start nibbling at a 4.75% handle and be aggressive buyers at 5%. Oil and Gas: Prices were modestly higher for the energy complex, as traders are likely closely watching whether President Trump would succeed in convincing President Xi to lean on Tehran over the ongoing Iran conflict, which has thrown global energy supplies into turmoil. With the summer driving season only a few weeks away, a settlement to reopen and make the Strait of Hormuz passable would be huge. As we have noted before, a peace agreement will cause prices to plummet, but the baseline oil price will be higher than anticipated going forward. Brent Crude closed Thursday at $106.60, up 0.95%, while West Texas Intermediate closed at $102.10, up 1.05%. Natural gas was last seen at $2.92, up 1.78%. Gold: After a solid week for precious metals, Gold and Silver prices closed lower. The combination of a stronger U.S. dollar, reduced expectations for interest rate cuts, and investor caution ahead of the ongoing key political meetings with President Xi in China. Gold finished the day at $4,651, down 0.79%, while Silver finished the day at $83.36, down 4.58%. Crypto: The cryptocurrency market saw a solid, bullish sentiment surge, likely heavily influenced by regulatory progress from the Senate Banking Committee, which voted 15-9 to advance the Clarity Act , a landmark bill aimed at establishing a regulatory framework for digital assets in the US. At 8 AM EDT, Bitcoin was trading at $80,580, while Ethereum was last seen at $2,267. 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports daily to identify new investment ideas for both investors and traders. Some of these daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Other calls cover stocks to sell or avoid. Remember that no single analyst call should ever be used as a basis to buy or sell a stock. Here are some of the top Wall Street analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen on Friday, May 15, 2026.