StockWatch

Update 28/05/2026
— The stock market had a relatively quiet session, with some profit-taking across semiconductor names limiting gains across the S&P 500 (flat) and Nasdaq Composite (+0.1%), while another retreat in oil prices supported strength in the broader market, sending the DJIA (+0.4%) to fresh record highs.—While the S&P 500 managed to capture a record closing high, the index spent much of the session in negative territory, which was largely due to weakness in the information technology sector (-0.4%). The sector finished well off its session lows, but semiconductor names remained a point of weakness following yesterday's Micron-led rally.—Micron (MU 928.41, +32.53, +3.63%) and other memory storage names managed to finish the session with gains, but large chipmakers such as NVIDIA (NVDA 212.60, -2.26, -1.05%) and Intel (INTC 121.77, -1.75, -1.42%) traded lower, while Qualcomm (QCOM 233.40, -15.42, -6.20%) was a notable laggard.—The PHLX Semiconductor Index finished 1.4% lower. —The information technology sector was one of five S&P 500 sectors to finish lower today, though losses elsewhere were generally modest. —The financials sector (-0.8%) was another laggard, with particular weakness across investment manager and insurance names. JPMorgan Chase (JPM 299.28, -7.46, -2.43%) traded lower after CEO Jamie Dimon said at a conference that the bank could commit $10 billion to $20 billion toward an acquisition in the coming years.—Elsewhere, the energy sector (-1.5%) finished with the widest loss as optimism surrounding a potential peace agreement between the U.S. and Iran sent oil prices sharply lower again today. The White House denied reports from Iranian state media suggesting the two sides are close to finalizing a memorandum of understanding that would restore traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, though Secretary of State Marco Rubio said during a cabinet meeting that some progress has been made toward a peace agreement.—Crude oil futures settled today's session $5.29 lower (-5.6%) at $88.60 per barrel. —Airlines, cruise lines, and homebuilders all outperformed again today, with the latter two groups helping lift the consumer discretionary sector (+1.9%). Treasury yields also moved modestly lower, and the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF advanced 1.6%. —Elsewhere in the sector, Amazon (AMZN 271.85, +6.56, +2.47%) provided solid mega-cap leadership, while MGM Resorts (MGM 41.95, +3.50, +9.10%) was among the best-performing S&P 500 components after several brokerage upgrades.—The consumer staples sector (+1.0%) also outperformed as investors did some bargain hunting following yesterday's retreat, while Meta Platforms (META 635.26, +22.92, +3.74%) moved higher this afternoon after TechCrunch reported that the company plans to introduce global consumer subscription offerings, helping lift the communication services sector (+0.7%) to its best levels of the session. —Overall, stocks remained near record levels despite some consolidation across semiconductor names, while falling oil prices continued to reinforce optimism that a U.S.-Iran agreement is becoming increasingly plausible. At the same time, investors have continued to show a willingness to buy dips across semiconductors and other AI-related names, which could fuel another push further into record territory.—U.S. Treasuries padded this week's gains during an otherwise quiet Wednesday session. Treasuries set fresh lows after today's $70 billion 5-year note auction met weaker demand than yesterday's solid 2-year note sale, but the last couple hours saw a return to pre-auction levels. The 2-year note yield settled down two basis points to 4.03%, the 5-year note yield settled down one basis point to 4.18%, and the 10-year note yield settled down one basis point to 4.48%.
Russell 2000: +17.7% YTD
Nasdaq Composite: +14.8% YTD
S&P Mid Cap 400: +12.4% YTD
S&P 500: +9.9% YTD
DJIA: +5.4% YTD
—Reviewing today's data:
The weekly MBA Mortgage Index fell 8.5% to follow last week's 2.3% decrease. The Purchase Index was down 0.4% while the Refinance Index fell 18.1%.

Update 25/05/2026
— The S&P 500 (+0.4%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.2%), and DJIA (+0.6%) traded in a relatively stable range today, locking in weekly gains that extend the S&P 500's winning streak to eight weeks and pushing the DJIA to fresh record highs. The Russell 2000 (+0.9%) and S&P Mid Cap 400 (+0.8%) outperformed.—Despite mixed performances across mega-cap stocks and heightened expectations for a rate hike later in the year, the broader market showed resilience, with nine S&P 500 sectors finishing higher.—Earnings and several other corporate news items of note contributed to the advance. —Within the information technology sector (+0.5%), hardware names such as Dell (DELL 295.25, +42.45, +16.79%) and HP Inc. (HPQ 25.24, +3.34, +15.27%) led the way after rival Lenovo (LNVGY 39.96, +6.04, +17.81%) posted an encouraging earnings report. —Workday (WDAY 128.14, +6.29, +5.16%) moved higher after topping its own earnings estimates, which contributed to strength across software names in the iShares GS Software ETF (IGV 93.98, +1.50, +1.62%). —It is worth noting the PHLX Semiconductor Index (+1.9%) posted a solid gain as well, though NVIDIA (NVDA 215.33, -4.18, -1.90%) has yet to garner any buy-the-dip interest following its own earnings report earlier in the week, which somewhat limited the technology sector's gain today.—Alphabet (GOOG 379.38, -4.09, -1.07%) was the other mega-cap laggard today, which contributed to weakness in the communication services sector (-0.7%). The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (+0.2%) finished modestly higher. —The broader market, however, traded in a stable range, which contributed to the outperformance of the S&P 500 Equal Weighted Index (+1.0%) relative to the market-weighted S&P 500 (+0.4%). —The health care sector (+1.2%) captured the widest gain as Merck (MRK 122.42, +6.54, +5.64%) moved higher following some positive updates to its oncology drugs, while the utilities sector (+0.8%) was supported by strength in electric utilities names. —The industrials sector (+0.7%) rounds out today's top performers, with Generac (GNRC 270.21, +22.42, +9.05%) trading sharply higher after Jefferies upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold.—Importantly, stocks showed resilience despite some hawkish developments on the monetary policy front. Fed Governor Christopher Waller (voting FOMC member) said that he would need to see considerable improvements in inflation to consider a rate reduction, which weighed on shorter-tenor Treasury yields today. Inflation concerns were also reflected in the final May reading for the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index, which fell to a record-low 44.8 as rising gas prices helped push year-ahead inflation expectations to an elevated 4.8%. —The CME FedWatch Tool is now assigning a 52.7% probability to a rate hike at the October FOMC meeting, with that probability rising to 74% by the January 2027 meeting.—That backdrop creates a challenging environment for new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, who was sworn in today. —For the time being, stocks continue to draw support from solid earnings results and generally stable oil prices, with crude oil ultimately retreating for the week despite several bouts of geopolitical volatility. The market also heads into the weekend with little in the way of material developments surrounding U.S.-Iran negotiations, though Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that "slight progress" has been made in talks between the two sides.—As a reminder, the market will be closed Monday, May 25, for Memorial Day. —U.S. Treasuries had a mixed showing to end the week with the 5-year note and shorter tenors recording losses while 10s and 30s outperformed, finishing in the green. The Treasury complex was eager to continue trimming this week's losses at the start of the session, but the higher open was rebuffed quickly, sending shorter tenors into the red in mid-morning trade. The 2-year note yield settled up two basis points to 4.12% (+4 basis points this week), and the 10-year note yield settled down three basis points to 4.56% (-4 basis points this week).
Russell 2000: +15.6% YTD
Nasdaq Composite: +13.4% YTD
S&P Mid Cap 400: +11.1% YTD
S&P 500: +9.2% YTD
DJIA: +5.2% YTD
—Reviewing today's data:
The final reading for the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for May dropped to 44.8 (Briefing.com consensus: 48.2) from the preliminary reading of 48.2, marking a new historic low. The final reading for April was 49.8. In the same period a year ago, the index stood at 52.2.
The key takeaway from the report is that consumers are clearly concerned about rising costs and their ability to out-earn inflation, which they are concerned will increase beyond fuel prices.
The April leading Economic Index checked in at 0.1% (Briefing.com consensus -0.3%), from the prior reading of -0.6%.