S&P futures are up 0.3% Thursday morning after U.S. equities finished mostly higher Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both closing at fresh all-time highs. Semis and Mag 7 led again, though breadth remained weak, with the equal-weight S&P lagging the cap-weighted index by roughly 100 bp. Global markets are mixed, with South Korea and India up more than 1%, while China’s Shanghai Composite fell roughly 1.5% and Shenzhen dropped more than 2%. Europe is up about 0.8%. Treasuries are slightly firmer, the dollar is little changed, gold and silver are lower, Bitcoin futures are slightly higher, and WTI crude is up 0.6%.
AI remains the dominant market theme, helped by Cisco’s beat-and-raise, the strong Cerebras IPO, and a Reuters report that the U.S. cleared Nvidia H200 chip sales to ten Chinese firms. The Trump-Xi summit has produced little concrete news so far, with expectations centered on extending the fragile trade truce, potential Chinese purchases of aircraft, soybeans, and energy, and possible movement on rare earths and advanced-chip restrictions. Middle East headlines remain relatively quiet, though Strait of Hormuz transit, inflation spillovers, and consumer affordability pressures continue to weigh on breadth and consumer/retail stocks.
Economic Calendar
April retail sales, import/export prices, and initial claims are due this morning. Headline retail sales are expected to rise 0.6% m/m after March’s 1.7% gain, while core retail sales are expected up 0.4% after 0.7% previously. Fed speakers include Hammack and Barr during the day, with Barr and Williams after the close. Friday brings May Empire manufacturing and April industrial production.
Company News
- CSCO: Big post-earnings gainer after a beat-and-raise, with order growth accelerating 17 pp to roughly 35% and FY26 AI order guidance raised to $9B from $5B.
- CBRS: Cerebras IPO priced at $185/share, above the most recent $150–$160 range, implying a market value of roughly $40B.
- NVDA: Reuters reported the U.S. cleared H200 chip sales to ten Chinese firms, though China approval remains the bigger hurdle.
- MSFT: Reportedly exploring AI startup acquisitions to diversify beyond OpenAI.
- KHC: CEO purchased roughly $5M of stock on Wednesday.
- DOCS: Down sharply on weaker revenue guidance, visibility concerns, and the need to increase investment.
- PBH: Weaker after a Q1 miss and softer FY guidance, with supply constraints flagged.
- STAA: Big gainer after an outsized Q1 beat.
- GO: Higher after better Q1 results, reaffirmed FY guidance, and positive commentary on traffic improvement, higher gross margin expectations, and operational progress.
U.S. equities finished mixed Wednesday, with the Dow down 0.14%, S&P 500 up 0.58%, Nasdaq up 1.20%, and Russell 2000 up 0.04%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both set fresh record highs, but breadth was negative and equal-weight S&P lagged cap-weighted by roughly 100 bp, underscoring continued concentration in semis, memory, and Mag 7 leadership. Macro data were less supportive, with April headline PPI up 1.4% m/m versus 0.5% consensus, the hottest reading since March 2022, while core PPI rose 1.0% m/m versus 0.3% consensus. The hot PPI followed Tuesday’s firmer core CPI, though Treasuries were fairly resilient, with the 10-year yield up only 1 bp to 4.47% after briefly touching its highest level since July 2025 and the 30-year up 1 bp to 5.04%. The 30-year auction tailed 0.5 bp and posted the weakest bid-to-cover since November. The dollar rose 0.2%, gold gained 0.2%, silver jumped 4.4%, Bitcoin futures fell 1.7%, and WTI crude declined 0.8% to $101.40 in choppy trading.
Sector Highlights
Sector performance remained highly concentrated. Communication Services led, up 2.65%, helped by strength in mega-cap internet and China tech, followed by Technology +0.98%, Consumer Discretionary +0.75%, and Healthcare +0.63%. Consumer Staples rose 0.29%, Energy gained 0.16%, and Materials finished flat. Utilities fell 1.26%, Financials declined 1.07%, Real Estate lost 0.90%, and Industrials fell 0.43%. Relative winners included semis, memory, networking/communications, autos/suppliers, managed care, hospitals, pharma/biotech, E&Cs, industrial metals, investment banks, custody banks, cruise lines, grocers, and retail favorites. Laggards included software outside cybersecurity, banks, P&C insurers, credit cards, payments, MedTech, building products, machinery, rails, retail/apparel, homebuilders, restaurants, telecom, REITs, and utilities.
Information Technology
- NVDA +2.3%: Gained after Trump said CEO Jensen Huang is accompanying him to Beijing and said he will ask Xi to “open up” China, raising hopes for potential progress on H200 AI chip sales.
- TSEM +22.6%: Q1 earnings and revenue beat, with management highlighting strong customer demand and commitments through 2027 from its largest silicon-photonics customers. Q2 revenue guidance was above Street expectations, and the company expects sequential revenue and margin growth throughout 2026.
- NBIS +15.7%: Big Q1 beat, with the company announcing it secured up to 1.2 GW of power and land for a new owned AI factory in Pennsylvania. Management also raised FY capacity guidance and highlighted record pipeline generation.
- AKAM +7.7%: Upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA, which cited the company’s transformation from a legacy delivery network into an AI infrastructure platform and highlighted large cloud contracts.
- AVT +5.0%: Upgraded to neutral from underperform at BofA, with the firm citing improving cycle indicators and signs that the inventory correction has passed trough levels.
- WIX -27.1%: Q1 revenue, margins, and free cash flow missed, while the company lowered its FCF margin guide. Management cited a softer start in the Partners business and productivity headwinds tied to the Iran war.
- DT -11.4%: FQ4 revenue, margins, and EPS were slightly ahead and FY27 ARR guidance topped expectations, but investors focused on a softer-than-hoped ARR beat and lack of NNARR acceleration.
- OKLO -5.4%: Q1 operating loss was larger than expected, though the company ended the quarter with $2.5B in cash and securities. Commentary focused on regulatory and deployment progress.
Communication Services
- BABA: Results were largely in line, with takeaways highlighting continued strong AI demand. The company also said it expects to exceed its planned AI investment of up to $55.9B over the next three years.
- SATS +3.0%: Rose after the FTC approved EchoStar’s sale of wireless spectrum to AT&T and SpaceX.
- China tech: Outperformed within Communication Services as the sector led the market.
Consumer Discretionary
- F +13.2%: Morgan Stanley argued Ford’s energy business is underappreciated and highlighted its CATL licensing deal as a competitive differentiator. The firm also sees potential for an energy-storage deal with a hyperscaler in coming months.
- BIRK -12.9%: FQ2 EPS, EBITDA, and revenue missed, with weakness in B2B, Europe, and APAC. FY26 EPS guidance midpoint was below Street expectations, and analysts flagged FX, tariffs, channel mix, and weaker European consumer sentiment.
- SN -5.1%: SharkNinja declined after CFO Adam Quigley disclosed the sale of 6.9K shares.
- Retail / apparel / restaurants / homebuilders: Lagged as consumer-facing cyclicals remained under pressure from affordability concerns and recent inflation data.
Consumer Staples
- Grocers: Outperformed within Staples as investors favored more defensive consumer exposure.
- Consumer Staples sector +0.29%: Posted a modest gain despite broader weakness in several defensive and rate-sensitive groups.
Energy
- Energy sector +0.16%: Finished slightly higher even as WTI crude declined 0.8% to $101.40. Energy headlines remained focused on Iran-related supply risks, falling U.S. crude inventories, OPEC demand revisions, and Saudi output at its lowest level since 1990.
Industrials
- NXT +8.8%: Q4 EPS, EBITDA, and revenue beat, backlog reached a record $5.25B, and FY27 revenue and EBITDA guidance were raised. The company also announced an $80.5M acquisition of a power conversion portfolio from Apex Power.
- E&Cs / industrial metals: Outperformed as investors continued to favor AI power and infrastructure-linked exposures.
- Machinery / road and rail / building products: Underperformed, weighing on the Industrials sector.
- FDX: Board approved the spinoff of the company’s LTL unit.
Materials
- EOSE +2.2%: Q1 EPS surprised positive and revenue beat. FY26 guidance was ahead of consensus, and the company is forming Frontier Power USA with CRBS to deploy zinc-based long-duration batteries.
- Industrial metals: Outperformed, while broader Materials finished flat.
Eco Data Releases | Thursday May 14th, 2026
S&P 500 Constituent Earnings Announcements | Thursday May 14th, 2026
Data sourced from FactSet Research Systems Inc.
