Wall Street closes higher on tech gains as investors focus on artificial intelligence

Wall Street finished higher on Friday as gains in Microsoft and other artificial intelligence stocks helped the market recover from a shaky week. The S&P 500 rose 37.96 points, or 0.49 percent, to close at 7,742.09 points. The Nasdaq Composite went up 125.51 points, or 0.47 percent, reaching 27,064.88. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 469.07 points, or 0.91 percent, to end at 51,819.05. Microsoft led the tech push after updating its Copilot app with a new coding tool and an always-on artificial intelligence agent. Akamai Technologies also saw a sharp increase following an $11.6 billion cloud services deal with Anthropic, which includes a warrant giving Anthropic up to five percent of Akamai. Other gainers included chip maker Qualcomm and Dell, while Meta Platforms dipped even though its stock rose about 13 percent for the week due to its Muse artificial intelligence agent. Trading remained volatile during the week due to uncertainty over artificial intelligence winners and losers, along with worries about the United States war with Iran and rising treasury yields. Market sentiment got a brief boost from reports that American and Iranian negotiators discussed a phased path out of the conflict, which could involve Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz and Washington lifting its economic blockade. Meanwhile, Brent crude oil stayed above $100 a barrel, and the yield on the benchmark US 10-year Treasury note hit a fresh 19-year high at 5.196 percent. Traders now see a 66 percent chance that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by at least 25 basis points in October. In political news, US President Donald Trump stated he held a productive meeting with President Xi Jinping after a three-day summit. In other corporate news, People Inc jumped after reports that MGM Resorts International discussed a potential bid for the company.