Stocks ground higher on Friday, with the Dow closing at a fresh record and the S&P 500 locking in its eighth straight week of gains. Crypto stayed quiet. The rally keeps rolling, even as consumer sentiment just hit a new low. Make of that what you will.
Market Snapshot
| INDEX | CLOSE | CHANGE |
|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 | 7,473.47 | +0.37% |
| Nasdaq | 26,343.97 | +0.19% |
| Dow Jones | 50,580 | +0.58% |
| Bitcoin | $77,447 | +0.24% |
| Ethereum | $2,132.82 | +0.77% |
What Moved Markets
Iran deal hopes and falling yields. Optimism around a potential U.S.-Iran deal that could turn the current fragile ceasefire into something more permanent pushed Treasury yields lower and gave stocks a tailwind. Oil prices dipped slightly on the news, which helped the broader market relax heading into the long weekend.
The AI trade keeps expanding. SoftBank shares ripped another 11% on Friday, extending a post-Nvidia earnings rally. Nvidia’s blockbuster report earlier in the week sent a wave through anything even loosely connected to AI infrastructure. Texas Instruments got an analyst upgrade tied to data-center power demand, Qualcomm jumped on a new partnership, and quantum-computing names like Rigetti and D-Wave kept climbing.
Consumer sentiment says otherwise. The University of Michigan’s May consumer sentiment survey dropped to a new low. People are worried about gas prices and inflation. The disconnect between how markets are performing and how people actually feel about the economy is getting wider. That gap tends to resolve eventually, and usually not in the direction Wall Street wants.
Deal activity and single-stock movers. IMAX surged nearly 15% on reports it is exploring a sale. Workday climbed after a strong quarterly report. On the flip side, Guzman y Gomez popped 20% after announcing it would exit the U.S. entirely and refocus on Australia. Jamie Dimon used the word “exuberance” to describe the current market, which, if you remember your financial history, is a word that tends to age poorly.
Worth Watching
Memorial Day: markets closed Monday. The NYSE and Nasdaq are both shut on May 25. Trading resumes Tuesday, May 26. Enjoy the long weekend, but know that lower-volume sessions around holidays can sometimes produce outsized moves.
Consumer spending data. Keep an eye on any personal spending or inflation readings due in the coming days. The sentiment numbers are ugly, and if spending starts catching down to match, the rally will need a better story than “AI is cool.”
Dimon’s warning. When the CEO of JPMorgan starts talking about exuberance, it is at least worth noting. He is not always right. But he is not usually the guy yelling fire for no reason.
Bottom Line
Eight straight weeks of gains for the S&P 500 is impressive by any measure. But the foundation is narrowing. AI stocks are doing a lot of heavy lifting, consumer sentiment is falling, and one of the most powerful bankers on the planet just dropped a word historically associated with market tops. None of that means you should sell everything and hide under the mattress. It does mean this is a good time to know exactly what you own and why you own it. If your thesis for any position is “it keeps going up,” that is not a thesis. Markets are closed Monday. Use the quiet to think, not trade.
