The Daily Brief — May 2026

44 editions on 25 days.

June 2026 → · All months

Thursday, May 28, 2026

Morning: Peace talks faded, yields are hitting 2007 highs, and Marvell just slid on flawless earnings while we wait for PCE to tell us if our equity valuations still matter · Evening: Oil cooled on ceasefire whispers, Snowflake officially cancelled the SaaSpocalypse, and now we're all staring at Broadcom to dictate the next rotation

Equities hit fresh record highs today as in-line PCE inflation data and rumors of a U.S.-Iran ceasefire cooled oil prices, sending tech soaring.

Wednesday, May 27, 2026

Morning: UBS casually tripled its Micron price target, AMD caught a beautiful Nvidia tailwind, and we're just hoping Marvell doesn't ruin a perfectly good semiconductor rally · Evening: Macro is a mess, Zuck is paywalling Instagram to feed his Nvidia habit, and we're printing fresh records as this hardware supercycle rolls into Broadcom next week

Despite sticky inflation and Middle East jitters, the S&P 500 and Dow ground out fresh record highs today as relentless AI optimism overpowered everything.

Friday, May 22, 2026

Morning: Nvidia printed eighty billion and still dipped, the real money quietly rotated into off-grid data centers, and now we're staring at Marvell to see if the plumbing holds up · Evening: Yields backed off to hand us an eighth green week, Spotify found religion in AI margins, and we're quietly taking SanDisk profits before the Marvell print

The S&P 500 secured its eighth straight winning week as easing 10-year yields and Middle East peace-talk optimism pushed markets toward fresh record highs.

Thursday, May 21, 2026

Morning: Nvidia dropped an eighty billion dollar buyback, BlackRock is quietly hoarding data centers, and we're all staring at Broadcom to see if the infrastructure rally holds · Evening: Nvidia printed eighty billion and still slipped, the broader market yawned, and we're watching capital quietly rotate into the guys who power the servers

Nvidia crushed Q1 earnings with $81.6 billion in revenue, but shares slipped 1.8% as sky-high expectations left the broader market drifting mostly flat today.

Wednesday, May 20, 2026

Morning: Crude spiked past 108, Marvell caught a quiet bid from a rival, and we're all ignoring the Nvidia headline beat tonight to obsess over its gross margins · Evening: Oil tumbled, someone just dropped seven billion on a data center lease, and Nvidia beat earnings but won't budge until guidance tells us how to feel

Tumbling oil prices and cooling Treasury yields fueled a broad market rally, sending the Nasdaq up 1.5% as traders positioned for Nvidia's after-hours earnings.

Tuesday, May 19, 2026

Morning: Trump called off the airstrike, AI infrastructure caught a heavy downgrade, and tomorrow's Nvidia print is the only thing standing between us and a reality check · Evening: Yields dragged the broader market lower, Marvell ignored the memo completely, and now we're just killing time until Nvidia decides if this AI rally lives or dies

Surging Treasury yields dragged all major indices lower today, forcing a risk-off rotation right before the most anticipated tech event of the year.

Monday, May 18, 2026

Morning: Gravity finally caught up to chips, Trump bought ServiceNow, and we're all staring at Wednesday's Nvidia earnings with mild existential dread · Evening: Data center darlings took a sharp haircut, ServiceNow quietly stole the show, and we're all just killing time until Wednesday's Nvidia print decides our fate

AI hardware suffered a sharp pullback today as rising Treasury yields and geopolitical fears sparked a sector rotation ahead of Nvidia's critical Wednesday earnings.

Tuesday, May 12, 2026

Morning: Micron Leads AI Infrastructure Rally; Shopify Tumbles on Loss · Evening: Hot Inflation Routs Semiconductors; Stalled Iran Talks Lift Oil

Hotter-than-expected April inflation and stalled US-Iran peace talks delivered a dual blow today, snapping the broader market's recent winning streak. Sizzling semiconductor stocks bore the brunt of the selloff as rate fears triggered massive profit-taking across your core holdings. High-flying memory players SNDK (-6.17%) and MU (-3.61%) tanked alongside CRWV (-6.06%) and MRVL (-3.71%), dragging down the broader SMH (-2.61%) ETF. The weakness bled into other highly valued names like HOOD (-3.11%) and NBIS (-3.76%), with the latter sliding just hours before its pivotal earnings report tomorrow morning. Conversely, geopolitical friction sent crude oil surging, lifting USO (+4.07%) as investors priced in tighter global supply. Today's semiconductor pullback feels violent, but it represents a necessary mechanical recalibration after SNDK's staggering 3,528% rally over the past year. Watch to see if tomorrow's pre-market earnings can stabilize the tape before higher-for-longer rate panic fully takes hold.

Monday, May 11, 2026

Morning: SanDisk, Micron Lead AI Chip Rally; CoreWeave Plunges · Evening: Micron Leads AI Infrastructure Boom; Dilution Sinks IREN

The AI infrastructure boom dominated today's session, brutally separating the suppliers of the picks and shovels from those footing the massive capital bills. Micron (MU) surged 6.50% to record highs after Deutsche Bank set a Street-high $1,000 target on insatiable AI memory demand. That same infrastructure bid sent Vertiv (VRT) up 8.22% on blowout liquid cooling demand, while Bloom Energy (BE) jumped 8.77% following an Oracle AI fuel-cell deal and raised 2026 outlook. Applied Digital (APLD) added 8.10%, continuing its tear after securing a $7.5 billion hyperscaler lease. Conversely, IREN plunged 9.89% as the harsh reality of financing its Nvidia-backed expansion hit home via a $2 billion convertible debt offering that sparked severe dilution fears. Elsewhere, Shopify (SHOP) tumbled 7.21% amid margin warnings and a surprise net loss. Watch how tomorrow's earnings from NBIS test the market's appetite for endless AI scaling.

Sunday, May 10, 2026

Evening: Semis Surge on AI Supply Crunch; Capex Sinks CRWV

Today's tape was dominated by an explosive semiconductor rally fueled by a structural shortage in foundational AI infrastructure. Memory makers went parabolic, with MU skyrocketing 15.51% and SNDK surging 16.60% as aggressive hyperscaler demand for high-bandwidth memory and enterprise storage severely outstrips global supply. AMD rode this exact AI tailwind, jumping 11.44% on continued momentum from its blockbuster earnings and raised long-term outlook for server CPUs powering agentic inference. However, the AI trade was not universally green; CRWV cratered 11.40% after its latest earnings report revealed a lighter upcoming revenue guide alongside surging capital expenditure costs, exposing the harsh financial realities of scaling physical data centers. Today's violent price action cements a massive one-month momentum continuation for the physical layer of the AI buildout. Watch NVDA's looming May 20 print to see if the undisputed sector king can justify this blistering hardware euphoria.

Saturday, May 9, 2026

Morning: AI Memory Demand Sparks Chip Rally; Micron Hits Record

An unstoppable wave of AI data-center optimism and memory chip shortages is violently reshaping the semiconductor landscape, sparking a sector-wide rally that crushed the broader market on Friday. Micron skyrocketed 15.5% to record highs as surging DRAM and NAND prices, fueled by server demand and geopolitical constraints, prove memory is a strategic chokepoint. SNDK surged 16.6% in sympathy with this memory supercycle, while AMD leaped 11.4% on blowout earnings, an AI cloud pact with Rackspace, and rumors that turbulence in OpenAI's custom chip deal with AVGO could send more business its way. IREN popped 7.6% after unveiling a $2.1 billion infrastructure partnership with Nvidia. Conversely, CRWV plunged 11.4% as wider Q1 losses and towering capex forecasts highlighted the brutal costs of scaling. This hardware dominance cements a continuation of the staggering 1Y AI momentum trade. Watch for aggressive capacity grabs by hyperscalers to drive sentiment at Monday's open.

Friday, May 8, 2026

Morning: IREN Soars on $3.4B Nvidia AI Pact; Semis Rebound Before Jobs Data · Evening: Chip Stocks Power Record Rally; AI Investors Punish Imperfection

The market shrugged off recent anxieties and ripped higher into the weekend, powered by a stunning rally in semiconductors. A stronger-than-expected April jobs report, which showed the economy added 115,000 jobs versus a 65,000 estimate, provided the macro fuel, sending the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to new records. The real story, however, was the absolute explosion in AI-related stocks. Memory chip makers flew on reports of surging DRAM and NAND prices, with Micron (MU) and SanDisk (SNDK) rocketing over 15% and 16% respectively. AMD continued its monster run, jumping over 11% as Wall Street keeps cheering its blowout earnings and growing data center business. It was a clear continuation of the year's dominant AI trend. But it was a different story for CoreWeave (CRWV), which plunged over 11% despite doubling revenue, as a wider loss and soft guidance showed that in this market, even massive growth isn't enough if you miss expectations. AI enthusiasm is clearly hitting fever pitch, but investors are punishing any hint of imperfection.

Thursday, May 7, 2026

Morning: AMD's Blockbuster Earnings Ignite Rally Across Chip Sector · Evening: AI Chip Stocks Tumble on Profit-Taking; Software Shares Rally

The market pulled back from record highs today, with a noticeable rotation out of the high-flying semiconductor and AI names that have powered the recent rally. Your portfolio felt this shift as Marvell Technology, AMD, and Broadcom all dropped around 3% or more, likely due to profit-taking after incredible year-to-date runs. The weakness was broad in the sector, with bitcoin miners IREN and APLD also seeing significant selling pressure. Bucking the trend were software and e-commerce companies, with ServiceNow surging over 5% after announcing an ambitious AI-driven product roadmap and long-term revenue targets at its investor day. Shopify also jumped nearly 6% as the market re-evaluated its strong earnings report from earlier in the week, looking past the conservative guidance. Tesla was another bright spot, climbing over 3% on positive April sales data from China. After the bell, Robinhood reported Q1 results that missed estimates, with the stock showing weakness in initial after-hours trading. The choppy, sector-specific action suggests investors are becoming more selective, and all eyes are now on tomorrow's employment report for the next major market catalyst.

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

Morning: AMD Soars on AI Demand; Shopify Tumbles on Growth Fears · Evening: AMD Soars on AI Boom; Oil Tumbles on U.S.-Iran Deal Hopes

The market's AI fever dream turned into a full-blown mania today, with AMD lighting the fuse for a massive rally across the semiconductor space. AMD skyrocketed an incredible 18.6% after it obliterated earnings expectations and issued a blockbuster forecast, driven by what CEO Lisa Su called "accelerating demand for AI infrastructure." This wasn't just an AMD story; the blowout results confirmed the AI spending boom is even larger than anticipated, lifting the entire sector. Your other big semi holdings like NVIDIA, TSM, and Micron all rode the wave, posting gains of 5.7%, 6.4%, and 4.1% respectively, which in turn powered the SMH and SOXX semiconductor ETFs up over 5%. Uber also had a strong day, jumping 8.5% after its own earnings report, where it beat profit estimates and showed continued strong growth in gross bookings, reassuring investors about consumer demand. The broader market was also lifted by a significant drop in oil prices, which tumbled over 7% on hopes of a potential U.S.-Iran agreement that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz. That sent the USO ETF down sharply but boosted sentiment across the equity markets, which now see a path to easing inflation. While most of your watchlist rallied, Bloom Energy gave back 3.3%, a likely breather after its monumental 1,600%+ one-year run. Overall, today's session was a powerful confirmation of the AI-driven bull narrative, leaving investors to watch if the tech sector can maintain this torrid momentum.

June 2026 → · All months