Market Perspective for May 24, 2026

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This was another interesting week for market participants as several news items were released. The first major news item came out on Tuesday as pending home sales data for April was made public. During that time, there was a 1.4 percent increase in sales compared to an expected increase of 1 percent.

Typically, those who buy a home will furnish it with new goods, pay for repairs and otherwise spend money to make the property their own. The increase also indicates that buyers are feeling more optimistic about owning property even as prices and interest rates stay somewhat elevated.

On Wednesday, the FOMC released the minutes from their most recent meeting. The main takeaway is that there is a significant split between those who believe that the Fed should continue to ease and those who think that a rate hike may be appropriate in the next few months. This split comes as data continues to support the risk for elevated inflation over a longer period.

If prices continue to rise, the Fed will likely want to consider a rate hike. Of course, raising rates may also hinder the job market, which is showing signs of softness. As has become customary over the past couple of years, the Fed must decide whether to prioritize prices over employment despite their mandate to keep both in check.

On Thursday, unemployment claims data for the past seven days was released. It found that there were 209,000 requests for unemployment benefits over the last week. This compares to an expected 210,000 requests prior to the release and 212,000 claims last week.

Also on Thursday, housing start data was made public. It found that 1.47 million new homes were built compared to an expected 1.44 million. This is important because a lack of housing inventory has largely been responsible for a slowdown in sales and an increase in prices. If more new homes are built, it may increase supply and make existing homes more affordable in the long-term.

Finally, on Friday, the University of Michigan released its revised consumer sentiment report. It found that sentiment was at 44.8 compared to an expected 48.2. This would be the lowest level in the survey’s history, and it would be the third time this year that it has broken a previous record low.

The S&P 500 was up 71 points to close the week at 7,470. This was an increase of 0.97 percent over the past five trading days. For the week, the market made a low of 7,341 on Tuesday and a high of 7,505 on Friday.

The Dow was up 1,044 points this week to finish at 50,579. That represented an increase of more than 2 percent since the open on Monday. On Wednesday, the market made its weekly low of 49,326 before reversing and hitting its weekly high of 50,763 on Friday afternoon.

The Nasdaq was up 188 points to close the week at 26,343. This was an increase of 0.72 percent over the past five trading days. On Tuesday, the index made its weekly low of 25,738 before reversing and hitting its high of 26,453 on Friday afternoon.

In international news, Canada announced on Friday that retail sales were up 0.9 percent while Great Britain stated retail sales there were down 1.3 percent. Canada announced earlier in the week that inflation was up 0.4 percent in April compared to an expected increase of 0.7 percent. Finally, Australia publicized on Wednesday that its economy lost 18,600 jobs this month and that the unemployment rate there ticked up to 4.5 percent.

Next week will be another interesting one as economic data will continue to pour in. It’s worth noting that Monday is the Memorial Day holiday, which means that markets will be closed. However, after that, you can expect the CB Consumer Confidence report to come out Tuesday while the PCE Price Index for April comes out on Thursday. In addition, preliminary GDP data for the first quarter comes out on Thursday.

Market Perspective for May 17, 2026

Market Perspective for May 17, 2026

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This past week was another consequential as a number of important reports were released. Taken together, they show an economy that is still relatively strong despite inflation taking a turn for the worse. Let’s look at what the data says about the economy, how it impacts monetary policy and how it might impact your wallet going forward.

On Tuesday, CPI data for the month of April was released. Core CPI was up 0.4 percent over the past month compared to an expected increase of 0.3 percent. Overall CPI was up 0.6 percent, which was in line with expectations. On an annualized basis, inflation was 3.8 percent in April, compared to 3.3 percent a month ago. The increase in oil prices is largely to blame for the acceleration with Americans paying an average of $4.52 for a gallon of gas.

On Wednesday, the Price Producer Index (PPI) for April was released. It revealed that core PPI was up about 1 percent compared to an expected increase of 0.3 percent. Overall PPI was up 1.4 percent compared to an expected increase of 0.5 percent. March figures were revised upward to 0.2 percent and 0.7 percent respectively. It’s possible that price increases for April may have been understated and that consumers may face more pressure on their wallets moving forward.

Also on Wednesday, Fed Chair Kevin Warsh was officially voted in as the new leader of the Federal Reserve. He replaces Jerome Powell who served in that role since 2017. Powell will remain with the Fed, which is the first time in roughly 75 years that a Fed Chair has remained with the organization upon stepping down from the position.

Thursday, retail sale and unemployment data were made public. Core retail sales were up 0.7 percent while overall retail sales were up 0.5 percent. Each of these figures were in line with analyst expectations prior to their release. There were 211,000 claims for unemployment benefits over the last seven days compared to an expected 205,000 and 199,000 confirmed claims from a week ago.

The S&P 500 eked out a slight gain this week finishing up 2.31 points to close at 7,408. This was a gain of just .03 percent for an index that has now finished in the green for seven straight weeks. The index made its high of the week on Thursday when it hit 7513. On Tuesday, it hit a low of 7,344.

The Dow was down slightly this week closing off .01 percent to finish the week at 49,526. The index spent some time above the 50,000 level, which has been both politically and physiologically significant for multiple months now. On Thursday, the market made a high of 50,174 before reversing. On Tuesday, the market bottomed out at 49,394.

As with the other two indexes, the Nasdaq was little changed this week. However, it was still the winner of the week finishing a robust .09 percent higher to close at 26,225. It made a high of 26,689 on Thursday after reversing from the weekly low of 25,810 made on Tuesday.

The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil came close to $105 this week, which puts it just a few dollars from its yearly high of just over $110. The key level to watch is $100 a barrel as that equates to gas prices of about $4 a gallon.

Next week is going to be another interesting one as there is sure to be continued fallout from events in Iran. There will be some intriguing data points coming out next week such as home sale data as well as the revised consumer sentiment report from the University of Michigan. However, the truly consequential information comes out on Wednesday as the FOMC releases the minutes from the April meeting.