Wall Street Celebrates New Records as Dow Jones Slips in Mixed Trading

US stock markets on Wall Street celebrated new highs during Tuesday’s trading session, which was Wednesday early morning in Indonesian time (27 May 2026). The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes surged to new intraday records on Tuesday, led by the technology sector. The rally was driven by market optimism over the prospects of a US-Iran ceasefire deal. The S&P 500 rose 0.61% to close at 7,519.12, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.19% to 26,656.18, both closing at record levels. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 118.02 points, or 0.23%, to 50,461.68. Micron Technology shares jumped 19%, surpassing a $1 trillion market capitalisation amid Wall Street analyst optimism. Other memory chip stocks, including Seagate Technology and Western Digital, rose 4% and 8% respectively. The Roundhill Memory (DRAM) ETF also climbed over 14% to a new high. US President Donald Trump stated on Monday that talks with Iran to end the conflict were progressing well. However, he warned that the US could take offensive action if negotiations fail. Additionally, the US said it conducted defensive strikes in southern Iran early Tuesday morning. US Central Command spokesperson Tim Hawkins stated that targets included missile launch sites and Iranian vessels attempting to lay mines. US crude oil prices pared losses following the strikes. July WTI contracts fell 2.81% to close at US$93.89 per barrel, while Brent crude rose 3.58% to settle at US$99.58 per barrel. ‘Investors are too optimistic that the conflict will end soon and everything will return to pre-war normalcy,’ said LNW’s Chief Investment Officer Ron Albahary to CNBC International. According to Albahary, there is a tug-of-war in the market. Investors remain confident in a surge of capital expenditure (capex) driving markets higher, even as the US economic foundation remains fragile with inflation potentially becoming systemic. Micron’s Stock Surge Micron surpassed a $1 trillion market valuation for the first time on Tuesday after its shares surged 19%, driven by massive demand for its memory chips from artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The rally followed UBS raising its price target for Micron shares by nearly threefold to $1,625 from $535, citing opportunities for long-term contracts with fixed-price schemes. ‘We believe the market will begin to assign a more ’normal’ valuation to this stock and MU will continue to see higher re-ratings as AI-driven structural changes in the memory industry become clearer,’ UBS wrote. The new price target suggests Micron shares could more than double from last Friday’s closing level. Micron is part of a new wave of chipmakers benefiting from the next phase of AI competition. Investors are now flocking to stocks related to central processing units (CPUs) and memory required to run and process AI agent workloads, an arena previously dominated by Nvidia. Explosive AI demand has triggered global memory shortages that chipmakers like Micron struggle to meet. This has allowed Micron and its competitors, SK Hynix and Samsung, to raise product prices. Micron’s shares have already surged more than threefold since the start of the year. A few weeks ago, Micron surpassed a $700 billion market valuation and entered the ranks of America’s most valuable tech companies. Intel, which lagged behind in the initial AI rally, has now surged more than sixfold and is trading near all-time highs. The US chipmaker is undergoing a major transformation following significant government investment last summer.