Friday, 22 May 2026: Markets Advance to cap another strong week

US equity markets advanced and shaped to cap another strong week ahead of the holiday long weekend despite heightened volatility – Dow gained +276-points or +0.55% to a record closing high of 50,285.66. International Business Machines (IBM) Corp soared +12.43% after the company said it would receive a US$1B CHIPS and Science Act award from the Commerce Department to build a quantum chip foundry. The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. government will award US$2B in grants to nine firms operating in the quantum computing space, lifting a host of companies in the wider sector.  Nvidia Corp fell -1.77% despite the world’s largest market capitalisation reporting better-than-expected headline numbers for the first quarter after the close of the previous session. Part of the drag on Nvidia’s shares was attributed to investors seeking to build cash reserves ahead of pending initial public offerings (IPO) by SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic