May 22 (Reuters) - The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit

an intraday record high on Friday, its first since the U.S.-Iran

war began, as AI-driven trade and market optimism over

negotiations to end the war lifted risk appetite.

The blue-chip index rose 0.73% to 50,651 points,

surpassing its previous record high of 50,512.79 from February

10 after crossing 50,000 points earlier this week. The index had

confirmed a correction in March, closing 10% below record highs,

as worries about the global economic impact of the war in Iran

fueled a broader Wall Street sell-off.

Artificial intelligence-driven moves and a Middle East

ceasefire aided market recovery from March lows, with both the

S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hitting record highs in

mid-April. The industrials-heavy Dow lagged behind, however, as

technology shares drove markets.

On the Dow, tech names Cisco ( CSCO ), Amazon ( AMZN ) and

Nvidia ( NVDA ) have outperformed over the quarter. The chip

giant's sales outlook topped estimates this week.

Laggards over the same time period include Chevron ( CVX ),

McDonalds ( MCD ) and Nike.

Robust first-quarter earnings have outweighed geopolitical

uncertainties with analysts' estimates for the next 12-month

U.S. earnings rising by over 10% since the start of the year,

according to LSEG Datastream.