Stocks Edge Higher After Strong Jobs, Iran Memo, AI Chip Rally

U.S. stocks rose Friday as stronger-than-expected April payrolls, progress on a proposed U.S.-Iran memorandum and a surge in semiconductor names lifted technology shares. The S&P 500 gained about 0.78%, the Nasdaq Composite climbed roughly 1.34% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was essentially flat, up 0.08%.

The Labor Department reported nonfarm payrolls increased by 115,000 in April, above economists’ estimates of roughly 55,000 to 65,000. The unemployment rate held at 4.3% and average hourly earnings rose 0.2% month over month. Market participants treated the figures as consistent with slower labor-market momentum while wage growth remained modest.

U.S. and Iranian negotiators approached a one-page memorandum that would set a 14-point framework to pause hostilities and open detailed nuclear talks within 30 days. Core terms under discussion included a pause in enrichment activity, acceptance of U.N. inspections and staged easing of sanctions tied to compliance. Officials expected Iran’s formal response over the weekend.

Semiconductor and AI-infrastructure stocks led gains. Micron rose about 10.5%, AMD added about 7.3% and Intel climbed roughly 7.5%. Equipment makers Applied Materials and KLA each gained near 5%. Several cloud and AI software names advanced after quarterly results that emphasized ongoing enterprise spending on AI compute and services; Datadog extended earlier gains after a revenue beat, and Akamai jumped after announcing a $1.8 billion AI cloud contract.

Not all technology companies moved higher. CoreWeave shares fell about 13% after the AI infrastructure specialist reported first-quarter revenue of $2.08 billion that beat estimates but issued second-quarter revenue guidance below consensus and raised its 2026 capital-expenditure baseline to $31 billion. Cloudflare shares dropped about 24% after reporting slower revenue growth, softer guidance and plans to reduce its workforce by roughly 20% as it restructures around AI offerings.

Market breadth was positive, with 49.2% of stocks advancing versus 46.1% declining and 58.7% of issues registering new highs. Chart analysts noted the S&P cleared a bull-flag pattern, citing a measured target near 8,326 if the breakout holds, with immediate resistance around 7,536 and support near 7,170.

Sector performance showed rotation into growth and cyclicals. Technology rose about 1.57%, basic materials gained around 1.10% and consumer discretionary added roughly 0.75%. Healthcare led decliners, down about 0.83%, while communication services and financials slipped amid profit-taking and easing expectations for wider net interest margins.

Market participants said they will monitor Iran’s response to the proposed memorandum, the April consumer price index due next week, tariff developments and the Federal Reserve’s June meeting as potential near-term catalysts.