Weekly Market Bullets

for the week ending 5/8/2026

• US Equity Markets continued to move higher last week on robust corporate earnings and a resurgence in technology stocks. The S&P 500 rose 2.3% for the week and is now up 8.1% for the year. The Nasdaq surged 4.5% for the week to bring its gains for the year to 12.9%, while the Russell 2000 (small cap stocks) increased 1.7% for the week and is now up 15.3% for the year.

• Global Equity Markets were up last week in anticipation of the Trump-Xi meetings and a surge in technology overseas as well. Developed Markets increased 0.7% for the week and are now up 6.4% for the year. Emerging Markets rallied 6.9% for the week on notable strength in South Korea to bring their gains for the year to 21.9%.

• US Employment Data Remain in healthy shape. Payroll gains for April totaled 115K, much higher than expected, while the Unemployment Rate for April held steady from March at 4.3%. Wage gains in April rose 3.6% from a year ago, up slightly from 3.5% in March. Despite that, consumer sentiment remains depressed, with the preliminary Michigan Sentiment survey for May hitting its lowest levels since the survey began back in 1952.

• Earnings growth for Q1 is its highest since the COVID rebound. With 89% of the S&P 500 reporting their quarterly results, earnings growth is on track to be 27.7% from a year ago, the highest growth rate since 2021 when we were coming out of the COVID shutdown. Amidst the ongoing angst with geopolitical events, rising energy prices, and weak consumer sentiment, earnings growth remains the primary driver of equity markets.

Market Data

for the week ending 5/8/2026