Wall Street climbs as investors buy AI stocks; Microsoft rallies

Wall Street experienced a climb on Friday, propelled by Microsoft and other companies linked to artificial intelligence (AI) technology stocks, despite high oil prices and a recent rise in U.S. Treasury yields creating uncertainty for investors. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes saw gains, marking a volatile week shaped by speculation on which sectors would benefit or suffer from AI advancements, as well as worries about the U.S. conflict with Iran and the surge in U.S. Treasury yields.

Microsoft led the rally, surging 3.3 percent and boosting its 2026 gain to 7 percent. The software giant's announcement of new features in its Copilot app, which includes a coding tool and an always-on AI agent, was a key driver behind the stock's performance. Additionally, Akamai Technologies experienced a 6 percent increase following a substantial $11.6 billion cloud services agreement with AI pioneer Anthropic.

The deal entails a warrant that could potentially grant Anthropic up to 5 percent ownership of Akamai, signaling continued investment interest and deal-making activity in the sector. Thomas Martin, a senior portfolio manager at Globalt Investments in Atlanta, noted that the ongoing deals and investments indicate a robust market environment, even amid the prevailing uncertainties.

Other notable gains included a 5.4 percent rise in chip manufacturer Qualcomm and a 6.6 percent increase in Dell Technologies.