News Bulletin
Friday, May 22, 2026
Evening Edition

Economic Numbers:

Time	Event	Actual	Forecast	Previous
Friday, May 22, 2026
10:00	US Leading Index (MoM) (Apr)	0.10%	-0.10%	-0.60%
10:00	Michigan 1-Year Inflation Expectations (May)	4.80%	4.50%	4.70%
10:00	Michigan Consumer Expectations (May)	44.10	48.50	48.10
10:00	Michigan Consumer Sentiment (May)	44.80	48.20	48.20
10:00	Michigan 5-Year Inflation Expectations (May)	3.90%	3.40%	3.40%
13:00	U.S. Baker Hughes Oil Rig Count	425.00	416.00	415.00
13:00	U.S. Baker Hughes Total Rig Count	558.00		551.00

Indices

	CLOSE	50 DMA	200 DMA
DJIA	50,579.70	48,247.26	47,606.57
NASDAQ	26,343.97	23,926.85	23,087.01
S&P 500	7,473.47	6,986.97	6,808.87

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
BJs Wholesale Club Holdings BJ:US	1.1	1.04	5.66B	5.38B	$11.55B	AM
Booz Allen Hamilton BAH:US	1.78	1.32	2.8B	2.87B	$9.84B	AM
Masimo MASI:US		1.43		398.65M	$9.44B	AM
Chart Industries GTLS:US		2.47		1.12B	$8.8B	AM
Aimco AIV:US					$8.28B	PM
HUB HUBG:US		0.39		885.76M	$2.55B	PM
Veris Residential CLI:US				67.94M	$1.77B	PM

Market News:

U.S. stocks on Friday posted their longest weekly winning streak in nearly two and a half years. Investors digested an eventful five days highlighted by signs of progress in the Middle East conflict and quarterly earnings from chipmaker Nvidia and retail giants like Walmart.

The benchmark S&P 500 index advanced 0.4% to close at 7,472.73 points, the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite climbed 0.2% to end at 26,343.97 points, and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.6% to settle at a record level of 50,579.70 points, after earlier scaling its first all-time intraday high since February 10.

For the week, the S&P was up 0.9% while the Nasdaq gained 0.5%, while the Dow outperformed with a 2.1% increase.

Wall Street gains about 17% over eight-week win streak

The S&P 500 notched an eight-week positive run, its longest such streak since a nine-week showing that culminated at the end of December 2023.

U.S. equities came under pressure at the start of the week, largely due to a steep global sell-off in the bond market that sent several benchmark instruments to a series of "highest ever" milestones. The U.S. 10-year yield hit its highest in over a year, while the longer-end U.S. 30-year yield hit levels not seen since 2007.

The bond rout was driven by traders raising their expectations for interest rate hikes by central banks across the world in order to combat the inflationary shock emerging from surging oil prices due to the Iran war. This week’s minutes of the Federal Reserve’s April monetary policy committee meeting showed that a majority of central bank officials now believe rate hikes could be appropriate if energy-driven inflation persists. A 25 basis point rate hike by the Fed is now fully priced in this year.

"Fed policy may have become overinsured against downside risks to the labor market, and prospects for future hikes might best be interpreted as a prudent reversal of this insurance," Matthew Luzzetti, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank, said.

Speaking of the Fed, Kevin Warsh was sworn in as the new central bank chief on Friday in an event overseen by President Donald Trump who handpicked the former Fed governor for the job.

Sentiment improved from Wednesday onwards as the bond sell-off eased amid a dip in oil prices. Iranian state media this week reported that scores of ships had transited the crucial Strait of Hormuz under the supervision of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ navy. The effective shuttering of the vital waterway for a fifth of the world’s oil and gas has led to the biggest supply disruption in history, significantly boosting oil prices.

Also helping the mood was messaging from both the U.S. and Iran that negotiations to possibly end hostilities were ongoing with the help of mediator Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Nvidia once again easily beat quarterly top- and bottom-line expectations and provided current quarter revenue guidance that topped estimates. The world’s largest company noted sky-high demand for its high-end, premium chips that power artificial intelligence processes. However, with the AI trade having seen a furious rally this year, concerns around Nvidia’s $5 trillion plus valuation weighed on the stock.

"There is simply no question that the stock market is overheated and stretched in valuation, and we would characterize the recent stock market moves as a blow-off top, which never ends well. While this vertical move higher in stocks can last for some time, there will eventually be a reversal and those with too much tech and semiconductor exposure will face a reckoning," David Bahnsen, chief investment officer at The Bahnsen Group, said.

"Our view is that we are well into a period where selectivity in stocks is more appropriate from a risk-reward basis than cap-weighted index exposure," he said.

"Nvidia’s revenue growth was monstrous and the company continues to enjoy the golden era of its business model, but the biggest risk to investors is that almost every good thing with Nvidia is virtually universally known and therefore priced in, and every bad thing, such as less spending from the hyperscalers, is not at all priced in," Bahnsen added.

U.S. Secretary of State touts progress in peace talks

Turning to developments in the Middle East, Iran’s foreign minister has met with the interior minister of Pakistan, with the discussions focused on bridging key divides between Washington and Tehran over peace proposals, Iranian state media reported.

The gathering comes two days after Pakistan presented Iran with the latest U.S. message in the negotiations, Reuters reported, citing the semi-official Tasnim and ISNA news agencies. Islamabad has frequently acted as a mediator between the U.S. and Iran. According to ISNA, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Naqvi is attempting to forge a framework for ending the war and resolving differences between both sides.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said discussions have shown "good signs" of progress, although he flagged that he did not want to be "overly optimistic" and was waiting to "see what happens over the next few days." Meanwhile, a senior Iranian official quoted by Reuters said that gaps in negotiations have narrowed.

Washington and Iran have now been locked in a protracted ceasefire that has lasted longer than the initial phase of bombardments which began in late February. The U.S. and Israel launched a joint assault on Iran, sparking a bout of attacks that spread to other areas in the Middle East, including large energy-producing countries in the Gulf region.

Questions are also swirling around the status of the Strait of Hormuz, with Trump opposing efforts by Iran and Oman to establish a toll system for the narrow chokepoint.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, were last up 0.8% to $103.39 a barrel, but were headed for a weekly decline of more than 5%. Iran’s state media on Friday said 35 merchant vessels, including oil tankers and container ships, had safely passed through the strait over the past 24 hours under an IRGC navy security escort.

U.S. consumer sentiment plumbs fresh record low

The economic calendar was also in focus on Friday, namely the University of Michigan’s final read of consumer surveys for May. The headline index measuring U.S. consumer sentiment slipped to 44.8 in May from 49.8 in April, the lowest reading on record.

"Consumer sentiment fell for the third straight month as supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz continue to boost gasoline prices. Sentiment is now just below the previous historical trough seen in June 2022. The cost of living continues to be a first-order concern, with 57% of consumers spontaneously mentioning that high prices were eroding their personal finances, up from 50% last month," Joanne Hsu, director of UMich’s surveys of consumers, said in a statement.

Consumers’ year-ahead inflation expectations ticked up to 4.8% in May from 4.7% in April, significantly exceeding the 3.4% reading seen in February prior to the start of the Middle East conflict.

Long-run inflation expectations climbed to 3.9% in May from 3.5% in April, notably higher than the 2.8% to 3.2% range seen in 2024.

Take-Two reaffirms ’GTA VI’ November launch

Looking at individual stocks, shares of Take-Two Interactive Software ended 4.4% lower. The company reported quarterly net bookings that beat expectations and reaffirmed a November launch date for its highly anticipated video game Grand Theft Auto VI.

Take-Two develops and publishes a wide variety of games across its labels Rockstar Games, 2K, and Zynga. Its most popular title is easily Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto series. Its fifth edition has sold over 225 million units since its launch in 2013, making it the second-highest selling video game of all time.

Grand Theft Auto VI is scheduled to be released on November 19 this year, and is expected to sell millions of copies and bring in billions of dollars in revenue for Take-Two within days of launch. The company’s top boss Strauss Zelnick said the game would "establish new record levels of operating performance" for Take-Two in fiscal 2027.

Elsewhere, class A shares of Workday gained 5.2% on first-quarter results from the software firm that topped expectations. The company provided financial guidance that was viewed as upbeat during a time when software stocks in general have been pressured by competition from cutting-edge AI models.

Zoom Communications climbed 9.2% after posting strong earnings and guidance.

Separately, Estee Lauder’s shares jumped 12% after the U.S. cosmetics giant and Spanish beauty brand Puig announced that they have terminated discussions over a possible tie-up which would have created one of the world’s biggest beauty companies.

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