Notable market news this past week (31-May-26)
Here is the Skeptivest roundup of the latest market headlines for the week
🌍 Equities rally to record highs on AI-led semiconductor strength and easing geopolitical tensions from US-Iran negotiations
AI-related momentum continued to dominate markets last week, with semiconductor stocks leading the charge to fresh record highs. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surged to a new all-time peak, underscoring strong investor conviction in the AI capex cycle. Memory-chip makers, Micron and SK Hynix, were key standouts, rallying sharply as they each crossed the US$1 trillion market capitalisation mark last week, after a series of bullish analyst upgrades and sustained optimism around AI-driven memory demand.
Separately, markets also saw bouts of volatility driven by US-Iran negotiations, which continued to swing oil prices as headlines around potential de-escalation and a possible ceasefire framework shifted expectations for supply risk in the Middle East. Latest headlines suggested that the US and Iran have tentatively agreed to extend a ceasefire by 60 days pending Trump's approval. Crude oil futures fell more than 9% over the week, closing out its steepest weekly decline since early April, amidst persistent reports that Trump and Iran could be nearing a ceasefire agreement. WTI slipped below US$88 per barrel while Brent eased to around US$91, with traders pricing in reduced geopolitical risk and the potential return of Iranian supply to global markets. The decline in oil prices helped alleviate inflation concerns and provided additional support to broader risk assets and the equity market. US treasury yields also fell 8-12bp across the curve on US-Iran optimism.
☕️ Quick fire happenings to note
🌏 Global macro
- US revised its first-quarter GDP growth lower to 1.6% from the initial 2.0%, driven by softer inventory investment and weaker consumer spending. While this still reflects an acceleration from 0.5%growth in the fourth quarter of 2025, the revision suggests that underlying momentum at the start of the year was more subdued than first thought, even as growth remained positive.
- US PCE inflation data showed a renewed pickup in price pressures in April, with headline PCE inflation accelerating to3.8% y/y, its highest level in three years, while core PCE rose to 3.3% y/y. Both readings remain well above the Fed’s 2.0% target, underscoring the persistence of underlying inflation pressures as Iran war added upward pressures on energy prices. The stickiness in underlying inflation is likely to reinforce expectations that the Fed will remain cautious on any near-term policy easing. The FOMC meeting strip is now pricing in 14.8bp of hikes for December 2026.
- China’s manufacturing activity stalled in May, with factory data pointing to continued softness in demand and uneven domestic momentum. The latest manufacturing PMI eased to exactly 50.0 from 50.3 in April, suggesting that production conditions remained subdued, as new orders weakened and export demand provided only limited offset. While input costs and supply conditions were relatively stable, firms continued to face headwinds from cautious household consumption and lingering property sector weakness.
🏦 Individual stocks/companies
- Snowflake Inc (+52.33% past 5D) shares surged sharply following a strong Q1 earnings report, that beat expectations on both revenue and profitability, alongside an upbeat outlook driven by accelerating enterprise AI adoption. The software company also announced a major US$6 billion 5-year strategic collaboration with Amazon Web Services, in which Snowflake commits to spending US$6 billion on AWS cloud and computing infrastructure, primarily to fuel the development of enterprise generative and agentic AI tools. This further strengthened investor confidence in its AI and data cloud positioning. Sentiment turned decisively more bullish, as the earnings release marked a clear inflection point after a period of earlier underperformance, as analysts raised price targets and reassessed Snowflake’s growth trajectory.
- Dell Technologies Inc (+57.00% past 5D) rallied after delivering a stronger-than-expected Q1 earnings, supported by resilient demand in its AI-optimised servers and continued recovery in enterprise IT spending. The company highlighted robust backlog growth in its infrastructure solutions segment, which helped offset softer performance in traditional PC shipments. Following the results, the stock soared on optimism around AI-driven hardware demand and improved earnings visibility. Sentiment remained constructive, with the results reinforcing Dell’s positioning as a key beneficiary of the enterprise AI infrastructure build-out.
- Ferrari NV (-3.02% past 5D) shares came under pressure after unveiling its first fully electric sports car, the Luce, marking the luxury automaker’s entry into the EV market. The announcement signalled a significant strategic shift for the company as it moves toward electrification. However, investor sentiment was cautious amid a broader market reassessment of near-term EV adoption trends. The stock’s decline also highlights the challenge premium automakers face in balancing innovation and sustainability goals while preserving the exclusivity and performance heritage that define their brands.
🇸🇬 Singapore related
- Singapore’s economy grew 6.0% y/y in Q1, underscoring a broad-based rebound in external-facing sectors. Growth was primarily driven by the electronics and wholesale trade segments, supported by improving global demand for technology-related goods and services, including AI-linked supply chains. The manufacturing sector also benefited from firmer production activity, while services remained resilient.
