News Bulletin
Thursday, May 14, 2026
Evening Edition

Economic Numbers:

Time	Event	Actual	Forecast	Previous
Thursday, May 14, 2026
8:30	Retail Sales (MoM) (Apr)	0.50%	0.50%	1.60%
8:30	Core Retail Sales (MoM) (Apr)	0.70%	0.70%	1.90%
8:30	Initial Jobless Claims	211K	205K	199K
8:30	Import Price Index (MoM) (Apr)	1.90%	1.00%	0.90%
8:30	Continuing Jobless Claims	1,782K	1,790K	1,758K
10:00	Business Inventories (MoM) (Mar)	0.90%	0.80%	0.40%
10:00	Retail Inventories Ex Auto (Mar)	0.40%	0.50%	0.50%

Indices

	CLOSE	50 DMA	200 DMA
DJIA	50,063.46	47,957.20	47,432.36
NASDAQ	26,635.22	23,496.58	22,931.86
S&P 500	7,501.24	6,904.65	6,775.76

Earnings Calendar:

(EPS: Earning Per Share / Rev: Revenue / Mkt Cap: market Capital/ BMO: Before Market Opening /AMC: After Market Close)

COMPANY	EPS Act	EPS Fore	Rev Act	Rev Fore	Mkt Cap	Time
Applied Materials AMAT:US	2.86	2.66	7.91B	7.64B	$362.53B	PM
Ross Stores ROST:US		1.63		5.32B	$71.29B	PM
Chart Industries GTLS:US		2.47		1.12B	$8.76B	AM
Dillards DDS:US	16.04	10.04	1.57B	1.54B	$8.65B	AM
Aimco AIV:US					$7.66B	PM
Bath And Body Works BBWI:US		0.28		1.36B	$4.02B	AM

Market News:

Wall Street ended higher on Thursday, boosted by a post-earnings surge in Dow 30 component Cisco and gains in technology stocks. Investors were also optimistic about President Donald Trump’s trip to China and were looking out for announcements on trade and possibly the Iran war.

The benchmark S&P 500 index added 0.8% to finish at 7,501.14 points, settling above the 7,500 level for the first time ever. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite climbed 0.9% to end at 26,635.22 points. Both gauges extend their run of record closes.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average concluded 0.8% higher at 50,063.46 points, just about 125 points short of its record close which was notched back in early February..

Trump hails ’constructive’ talks even as Taiwan tensions loom

Market participants were in an upbeat mood as they closely followed Trump’s high-stakes visit to China, the first by a sitting U.S. president since Trump’s own visit in 2017.

Trump hailed "extremely positive and constructive discussions" with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

Speaking at a state banquet in Beijing, Trump described Xi as a "friend" and his welcome in China as "magnificent." Talks so far between the two leaders have been "all good" for both countries, Trump said, inviting Xi to visit the U.S. in September.

"We have a chance to create a future of greater cooperation and prosperity," the president said.

Xi, for his part, said he had an "in-depth exchange of views" with Trump, stressing that the two nations should "become partners, not rivals" - although he noted that only through "mutual respect" can these ties be stable.

China’s Xinhua also said Xi had brought up the touchy subject of Taiwan. The Asian nation’s leader noted that the Taiwan issue was the most important talking point with the U.S., Xinhua said. If the Taiwan issue was handled properly, Xi said the bilateral relationship would enjoy overall stability, otherwise there could be clashes and even conflicts, the state media added.

"Trump’s visit to China comes at a critical juncture in geopolitics, and while there are ’pros’ to take from the visit, particularly in potential new trade partnerships, there are multiple economic avenues we could witness here – all depending on President Trump’s willingness to appease Xi Jinping. Of course, this centers broadly around Taiwan," Yerbol Orynbayev, former World Bank governor of Kazakhstan, told Investing.com.

Positives for Nvidia, Boeing

However, traders looked past any tensions over Taiwan and focused on possible breakthroughs between the U.S. and China on trade, artificial intelligence, and possibly Iran.

The U.S. has cleared about 10 Chinese companies to purchase Nvidia’s second-most powerful AI chip, the H200, although a delivery has yet to be made, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is accompanying Trump to China, raising expectations that a breakthrough could be reached to unlock sales of the H200 in the country.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that the Reuters report "news to me" and the "back and forth" on the H200 was a "Commerce Department function." Shares of Nvidia edged up 4.4% to end at a record high on Thursday.

"Markets, of course, have reacted positively to the excursion – the S&P, Dow, and the Nasdaq all rose, bumped by news that Nvidia would see a defined point of entry into the Chinese market," Orynbayev told Investing.com.

"However, this short-term euphoria may come at the expense of long-term disruption if we do eventually see China make a territorial move on sovereign Taiwanese territory. This is a key point of discussion in the summit, and one that will surely dictate global market stability – at a time when stability is, frankly, much needed," he added.

Another top executive accompanying Trump to China was Boeing’s CEO Kelly Ortberg. The plane manufacturer was in focus after Trump told Fox News that Xi had agreed to China buying 200 aircraft from the company.

"He’s going to order 200 jets...200 big ones. That’s a lot of jobs. Boeing wanted a 150, he got 200," Trump said.

Shares of Boeing, however, reversed course to end nearly 5% lower.

Trump and Xi touch upon Iran

Attention was also on any discussions between Trump and Xi about Iran. China is a major importer of oil from Iran, and some analysts and observers have suggested that the Asian nation could try and play a role in diplomacy between the warring parties.

Trump told Fox News that Iran was talked about. "President Xi would like to see a deal made," he said.

"He said, ’If I can be of any help at all, I would like to be of help,’" Trump said, adding "anybody that buys that much oil has obviously got some kind of a relationship with them."

"He said, ’I would love to be of help. If I can be of any help whatsoever.’ He’d like to see the Hormuz strait open," Trump said.

"He said he’s not going to give military equipment. That’s a big statement. He said that today. That’s a big statement. He said that strongly," the U.S. president added.

The critical Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas flows, has been effectively shuttered by Iran since the start of the conflict at the end of February. That has led to the biggest oil supply disruption in history.

The U.S. and Iran are in a protracted impasse since Trump last weekend rejected Tehran’s response to a U.S. proposal to end hostilities.

Oil prices on Thursday had ticked up slightly after a period of seesawing. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, were last up 0.5% to $106.16 a barrel, compared to a pre-war level of roughly $70 a barrel. This spike has fueled worries over an inflationary surge in countries around the world, a trend underlined by consumer and producer price data out of the U.S. this week.

The U.S. Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh as chair of the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, elevating him to the helm of the central bank just as policymakers are grappling with price pressures that may make it harder to justify delivering rapid and aggressive rate cuts frequently demanded by Trump. Warsh will replace outgoing chair Jerome Powell.

In another Fed-related headline, Stephen Miran submitted his resignation from the central bank’s board on Thursday after serving eight months as a governor, clearing a seat for Warsh to join the seven-member board.

Retail sales decelerate from March

Sentiment on Thursday also appeared to shrug off hotter-than-expected U.S. producer price index data, the second set of upside inflation figures in as many days. Analysts at Vital Knowledge suggested that some market observers see the rise in PPI as a function of the Iran war, meaning that readings may cool once a deal is reached to end the conflict.

The economic calendar on Thursday did not have any more inflation indicators, but the docket was highlighted by April retail sales. As per the U.S. Census Bureau, retail sales ticked up 0.5% M/M, matching the consensus estimate but decelerating from March’s 1.6% rise.

"In April, sales at gasoline stations increased by 21.2%. The longer that oil costs remain high, the more entrenched inflation could become, which will further pressure the consumer," Michael Lasser, analyst at UBS, said.

Separately, the Department of Labor said the number of Americans filing for initial jobless claims in the past week increased 211,000, higher than the expected figure of 205,000. Continuing claims climbed 24,000 to 1.782 million.

Cisco’s AI overhaul

Turing to individual stocks, Cisco soared more than 13% after the networking gear provider unveiled a sweeping restructuring plan centered around AI.

The company announced a push to reduce its overall workforce by roughly 4,000 jobs, or around 5% of its workforce. It flagged a $1 billion charge due to severance and other costs.

Cisco said that it expects to recognize approximately $450 million of these charges in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, with the remaining amount to be recognized during fiscal 2027. The company described the charges as primarily cash-based.

CEO Chuck Robbins told analysts in a post-earnings call that the firm does not "always have the exact resources that we need going forward in the right places," adding that the overhaul is more about this reallocation of resources "versus savings."

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