Wall Street closed higher Thursday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average led a broad but modest advance, finishing at a record high while investors weighed falling crude oil prices, U.S.-Iran diplomacy, economic data and a mixed batch of corporate earnings.

The Dow rose 276.31 points, or 0.55%, to 50,285.66. The S&P 500 gained 12.75 points, or 0.17%, to 7,445.72, while the Nasdaq Composite added 22.74 points, or 0.09%, to 26,293.10. The Russell 2000, a gauge of smaller companies more closely tied to domestic growth expectations, rose 0.9% to 2,843.45, suggesting that the session’s advance extended beyond a handful of large technology names.

The day’s trading was not a straight-line rally. Stocks moved through a volatile session as crude prices initially climbed before pulling back, easing some of the inflation and margin concerns that had weighed on equities earlier. Brent crude fell from an intraday level above $108 a barrel to near $102.58, according to market reports, as investors followed signals of possible diplomatic progress related to the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran. Energy prices have been a central market variable because of their potential impact on consumer spending, transportation costs, corporate margins and the Federal Reserve’s inflation calculus.

The Dow’s leadership reflected stronger demand for blue-chip and industrial shares, while technology stocks were more uneven. IBM rose sharply after government funding news lifted several quantum-computing names, and Dow components including Cisco Systems and Honeywell also helped support the index. But Nvidia, one of the market’s most important artificial-intelligence bellwethers, fell even after the chipmaker delivered a strong outlook and announced a large share-repurchase plan. The decline suggested that investors were applying a higher bar to richly valued technology leaders after a powerful AI-driven market run.

Retail earnings also shaped the session. Walmart fell more than 7% after issuing conservative guidance that pointed to higher fuel costs, weighing on the consumer staples sector. The move reinforced investor concern that elevated energy prices can quickly filter into freight, supply-chain and household budgets. The retail reaction stood in contrast to the broader market’s gains and showed that investors were still differentiating sharply between companies seen as able to protect margins and those more exposed to cost pressure.

Economic data gave the market another reason to remain constructive, though not without caveats. Initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 209,000 for the week ended May 16, according to the Labor Department figures reported Thursday. The claims data pointed to continued low layoff levels, giving investors some confidence that the labor market had not yet cracked under pressure from higher borrowing costs, geopolitical uncertainty and energy volatility.

At the same time, the labor-market picture remained nuanced. Low jobless claims can support consumer spending and corporate revenue expectations, but they also reduce the urgency for the Federal Reserve to ease policy if inflation remains sticky. That tension has defined much of the year’s market debate: investors want evidence of economic resilience, but not so much strength or cost pressure that it forces policymakers into a more restrictive stance.

A separate S&P Global survey showed U.S. manufacturing activity rising to a four-year high in May. The flash manufacturing purchasing managers’ index increased to 55.3 from 54.5 in April, according to Reuters. The survey suggested that factory activity strengthened as businesses built inventories, partly to guard against potential shortages and rising costs linked to geopolitical and supply-chain risks. But the report also pointed to higher input costs, showing why investors remain sensitive to inflation readings even when growth data look solid.

Bond markets were part of the equity story. As crude oil came off its highs, Treasury yields eased, reducing pressure on growth-sensitive shares and helping stocks recover from earlier weakness. Higher yields can make equities less attractive relative to bonds and can weigh heavily on longer-duration technology stocks, whose valuations depend more on future earnings. Thursday’s partial relief in yields helped improve the market tone, although traders remained cautious about how energy prices and inflation data may influence the Fed’s next steps.

The session also showed a market still driven by crosscurrents rather than a single clean narrative. On one side, investors saw record levels for the Dow, gains in small caps, resilient jobless claims and stronger manufacturing activity. On the other, they faced expensive technology valuations, mixed earnings reactions, pressure on some consumer companies and the risk that geopolitical developments could reignite oil-price volatility. That combination produced gains, but the relatively small increases in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq suggested that conviction remained measured.

Market breadth was more constructive than the headline moves alone suggested. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on major U.S. exchanges, according to Reuters, though trading volume was slightly below the recent 20-session average. That pattern indicated broader participation in the rally but also reflected some restraint among investors ahead of additional economic data, earnings reports and geopolitical updates.

The Dow’s record close carried symbolic weight because it marked renewed confidence in economically sensitive and mature companies after a period in which artificial-intelligence-linked technology stocks often dominated market direction. Blue-chip strength can signal optimism about corporate cash flows, capital spending and the durability of U.S. demand. Still, the modest moves in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq showed that investors were not broadly repricing risk in a dramatic way.

For businesses, Thursday’s market action pointed to a familiar operating environment: demand remains present, labor-market conditions remain stable, and capital markets remain open, but cost volatility is still a central risk. Companies with exposure to transportation, retail, manufacturing and imported inputs may face continued pressure if energy and supply-chain costs remain elevated. Firms with pricing power or less direct commodity exposure may be better positioned if the economy continues to expand without a sharper inflation shock.

For investors, the market close reinforced the importance of watching oil prices, Treasury yields and earnings guidance together rather than in isolation. A drop in crude helped lift sentiment Thursday, but the same geopolitical backdrop that supported hopes for diplomatic progress also kept traders alert to the possibility of renewed disruption. The Dow’s leadership showed that buyers were willing to step into large-cap U.S. equities, but the restrained advance in the broader indexes suggested that the market still wants confirmation from inflation data, Fed signals and corporate results before extending the rally more aggressively.