By Joe Woelfel and Kit Norton

Stocks advanced Friday and the S&P 500 moved toward its longest weekly winning streak in 2 1/2 years even as consumer optimism is falling fast. As prices at the pump rise, the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index clocked in at 44.8 for May, down from 49.8 in April, on rising concerns about inflation.

These stocks were making moves:

Estée Lauder rose 11%. The cosmetics company ended its acquisition talks with Spain's Puig Brands.

Workday's first-quarter earnings and sales topped analysts' expectations and subscription numbers rose, flying in the face of the market sentiment that artificial intelligence would disrupt the software industry. The stock gained 4.7%.

Apple advanced 1.5% to $309.50, on pace to close above the $4.5 trillion milestone for the first time. The price to achieve that milestone is $306.386, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The only other companies to surpass $4.5 trillion in market cap are Alphabet and Nvidia.

Rocket Lab soared 7.3%, erasing losses from Thursday. Shares of the launch-and-satellite company fell 6.6% on Thursday after Elon Musk's SpaceX IPO registration statement. Fellow space-related stocks Virgin Galactic and AST SpaceMobile gained 18% and 10%, respectively, on Friday.

Futu Holdings sank 26% to $91.03. The Hong Kong-based financial firm came under pressure after China's securities regulator launched a broad crackdown on unauthorized cross-border investing, targeting online brokerages. J.P. Morgan on Friday downgraded Futu to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $87, down from $300. The firm estimates that if Futu exits all existing Mainland clients, its revenue would drop 20% and earnings would drop 30% in 2026.

Merck advanced 5.3% following promising trial results for an experimental cancer drug combination as the pharmaceutical giant races to defend its oncology franchise ahead of a key patent expiration. China's Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Biopharmaceutical, a Merck partner, reported positive results for a late-stage trial evaluating the efficacy of sacituzumab tirumotecan, or sac-TMT. The drug works by targeting the TROP2 protein, which is expressed in many cancers.

Dell Technologies gained 17%, leading the S&P 500 for the trading session. Several analysts expect the company's fiscal first-quarter earnings next week to beat Wall Street expectations. Dell could also raise full-fiscal year guidance based on its artificial-intelligence business.

HP Inc. rose 14%. Along with Dell next week, HP Inc. also reports quarterly earnings, on May 27. Like Dell, HP also has been leaning into AI. The stock was on pace Friday to close higher for a sixth consecutive trading session, its longest winning streak since July 17, 2024, when it rose for eight straight trading days, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

Zoom Communications jumped 11% after raising its fiscal-year outlook as the company leans into artificial-intelligence offerings.

Shares of Take-Two Interactive Software rose as high as $247 early before falling 4.2% to $228.42. The videogame maker reported a narrower-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter loss but provided weak bookings outlook for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines gained 1.4%, building on its 12% advance from Thursday, as the quantum computing rally continues. IBM said Thursday it would create a new, stand-alone quantum foundry called Anderon. IBM and the Commerce Department each will contribute $1 billion of cash into the project.

Ross Stores, the discount apparel and home accessories retailer, reported first-quarter sales and earnings that topped Wall Street expectations. The stock added 7.2%. The company also boosted its fiscal-year outlook.

Imax gained 16%. The high-end movie-screen company is exploring a sale and has approached entertainment companies as potential buyers, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation.

Booz Allen Hamilton rose 2.1% after the government services consultant reported mixed quarterly results. Booz Allen posted fiscal first-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.78 a share, up from $1.61 last year and better than analysts' estimates of $1.34. Revenue fell 6.4% year over year to $2.78 billion and was below Wall Street's estimate of $2.87 billion.

Texas Instruments advanced 4.8% to $312.68. Seaport Research upgraded the chip maker to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $400.

Write to Joe Woelfel at joseph.woelfel@barrons.com and Kit Norton at kit.norton@barrons.com

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May 22, 2026 14:15 ET (18:15 GMT)

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