Intel Shares Rise 13% on Report of Apple Chip Deal

U.S. stocks climbed to record highs on Friday as technology shares led gains. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.7 percent while the S&P 500 advanced 0.8 percent, with both indexes posting all-time record highs to cap six straight weeks of gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed. Shares of chipmakers rallied in the afternoon after the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple and Intel agreed to a deal that would see Intel provide chips for some of Apple’s devices. Intel stock jumped 13 percent on the news, and Apple shares rose 1.8 percent.

Intel hit its fourth straight intraday record high during the session. The move came amid a broad advance for semiconductor stocks. Intel, Micron and Nvidia each neared $100 billion in market-value gains on the day. Broadcom and AMD also rose, putting the top chip gainers on track to add well over $400 billion in combined market value.

Market sentiment received a lift after the April jobs report showed the U.S. economy added 115,000 jobs, exceeding economists' median estimate of 65,000. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.3 percent. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had projected the same 4.3 percent unemployment rate.

Crude prices moved higher after military clashes near the Strait of Hormuz heightened concerns over the Middle East conflict. Brent futures hovered near $101 per barrel while West Texas Intermediate traded near $95. Gold futures edged higher to cap weekly gains of more than 2 percent, supported by a weaker dollar and safe-haven demand.

Consumer sentiment fell to a record low in May. The University of Michigan preliminary reading came in at 48.2, as cost-of-living concerns remained prominent. Survey director Joanne Hsu said about one-third of consumers mentioned gasoline prices and about 30 percent mentioned tariffs.