By Bloomberg
Publication Date: 2026-05-11 15:50:00
By Geoffrey Morgan, Bloomberg
US equities resumed their advanced midmorning Monday, as strong earnings reports spurred bullish Wall Street strategists to raise their targets on the S&P 500 this year despite lingering concerns about the duration of the Iran war.
The S&P 500 rose 0.2% at 11:19 a.m. in New York, led by the energy and materials sectors. Nvidia Corp. contributed the most to the index’s gain on Monday as ongoing strength in chip stocks buoyed the US benchmark. Qualcomm Inc. and Micron Technology Inc. were among the top performers in the benchmark. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 edged up 0.1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average erased earlier losses to trade little changed.
“Markets still believe a cease fire agreement will be reached,” said Tom Essaye, founder of the Sevens Report, on why stocks aren’t selling off more sharply after US President Donald Trump called Iran’s response to his proposal to end the war “totally unacceptable.”
Crude prices climbed Monday, with West Texas Intermediate oil once again approaching $100 a barrel. The Cboe Volatility Index hovered around 18.
“The geopolitical front remains extremely uncertain, but investors continue to be able to look past these issues,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co.
Even as the conflict has dragged on, the strength of first-quarter earnings surprises has now led multiple Wall Street strategists to raise their full-year targets on the S&P 500. CFRA upped…
