How major US stock indexes fared Wednesday 5/20/2026

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The U.S. stock market bounced back after pressure eased on Wall Street from the bond market and oil prices gave back some of their big gains.

The S&P 500 climbed 1.1% Wednesday, its first rise in four days. The index is not far from the all-time high it set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.3%, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 1.5%.

Stocks got a lift from easing yields in the bond market, which halted their sharp recent climbs on worries about inflation. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell back below 4.60% as the price of Brent crude oil dropped 5.6%.

On Wednesday:

The S&P 500 rose 79.36 points, or 1.1%, to 7,432.97.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 645.47 points, or 1.3%, to 50,009.35.

The Nasdaq composite rose 399.65 points, or 1.5%, to 26,270.36.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 70.29 points, or 2.6% to 2,817.36.

For the week:

The S&P 500 is up 24.47 points, or 0.3%.

The Dow is up 483.18 points, or 1%.

The Nasdaq is up 45.21 points, or 0.2%.

The Russell 2000 is up 24.07 points, or 0.9%.

For the year:

The S&P 500 is up 587.47 points, or 8.6%.

The Dow is up 1,946.06 points, or 4%.

The Nasdaq is up 3,028.37 points, or 13%.

The Russell 2000 is up 335.46 points, or 13.5%.