The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to a new record on Wednesday as oil prices retreated, while the S&P 500 eked out a tiny gain, with chip stocks keeping the index's gains in check.
The 30-stock Dow gained 182.60 points, or 0.36%, for a record close of 50,644.28. The blue-chip index also hit an intraday all-time high. The broad market S&P 500 ticked 0.02% higher to 7,520.36, another closing record. The Nasdaq Composite also edged up 0.07% to end at 26,674.73.
A decline in oil prices lent the Dow some support. U.S. crude oil fell 5.55% to settle at $88.68 a barrel after Iranian state media said the country is committed to restoring commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to pre-war levels within one month, per Reuters.
The White House, however, denied the Iranian state media report as a "complete fabrication."
Meanwhile, the recent rally in chip stocks lost steam Wednesday. Micron Technology, which surged more than 19% on Tuesday to top $1 trillion in market capitalization for the first time, was off its highs of the day and closed 3.6% higher. Fellow semiconductor stocks Intel and Qualcomm were in negative territory, dropping 1% and 6%, respectively. Intel rose roughly 3% Tuesday, while Qualcomm gained more than 4%.
In the prior session, Micron soared on a bullish report from UBS, which said the stock could more than double from here because of long-term agreements being signed by memory suppliers to fuel AI implementation. Investors have shifted to memory chip makers as their favorite way to play the AI bull market. Micron's South Korean peer SK Hynix hit a $1 trillion market value as well overnight.
"The transformative impact of AI in the coming years and decades cannot be overstated, but the current valuations associated with many of the semiconductor stocks that are providing the compute infrastructure to make it all happen have gotten extremely frothy and way ahead of themselves," said Eric Parnell, chief market strategist at Great Valley Advisor Group.
In 2026 alone, shares of Micron have more than tripled, as have Intel shares.
"While we may be in the latest boom cycle for chip stocks today, it is important to remember that bust cycles have historically followed," Parnell added.
JPMorgan was another key laggard Wednesday. Shares were down 2% after CEO Jamie Dimon said that the bank could spend as much as $20 billion on an acquisition "in the next couple years."
— CNBC's Spencer Kimball contributed to this report.


