Records everywhere: Dow tops 54,000 for the first time, S&P 500 hits 7,736.49. Brent collapses 6.08% to $78.68 as Bessent floats a Hormuz deal “today or tomorrow” — but June’s signed deal already failed on the same question. Tech rips 4.25%; Intel and SanDisk both +10.84%. AMD beats on everything and falls 8% after hours anyway. Bezos files to sell $4.07B of Amazon. JOLTS and factory orders both miss — nobody cared. Philadelphia Fed’s Paulson keeps a rate hike alive.
MIB Daily: A Record Built on an Unsigned Hormuz Deal — Tech Carries It, AMD Tests It, Macro Waits Its Turn
MIB Weekly: Intel Beat by 100% and Fell 7.89% as Capital Intensity Repriced — Brent Over $100, a Tariff Floor on 99.4% of Imports, Hike Odds at 72%, and Breadth Still Green
Brent topped $100 for the first time in two months and closed the week up 11.39% after Houthi missiles struck two Saudi tankers. The larger repricing was in AI: Alphabet (-7.13%), Tesla (-14.52%) and Intel (-7.89% despite its best growth in fifteen years) were all punished for capital spending, while Apple (+3.53%) and IBM (+3.65%) were bid for having none. Polymarket’s 2026 hike odds jumped 21 points to 72% heading into Wednesday’s FOMC.
MIB Daily: Intel Fell 7.89% on a Blowout Quarter as Semis Shed 4.4% and Apple Rose 3.53% — a 12.5% Tariff Floor Now Covers 99.4% of Imports, and a Split FOMC Meets Wednesday
Section 301 forced-labor tariffs of 10-12.5% hit 60 economies covering 99.4% of US imports — a durable levy replacing the struck-down IEEPA regime. An AI capex scare gutted chips: Intel -7.89% after a blowout quarter, SanDisk -10.79%, Micron -6.99%. Apple +3.53% and IBM +3.65% won the rotation. Crude reversed hard, Brent -2.50% to $98, on a China-brokered Iran overture. July PMI hit an eight-month high of 53.6. A third of the rates market now prices a Wednesday hike.
MIB Daily: GOOGL -7.13%, TSLA -14.52% as AI Spending Meets Its Reckoning — Brent’s Run to $100 Leaves the Fed No Room, Energy Alone Gains
Alphabet and Tesla cratered — GOOGL -7.13%, TSLA -14.52% — after both guided capex well above expectations, dragging the Nasdaq 100 down 1.87%. Brent crude topped $100/bbl as Houthi strikes hit Saudi tankers, opening a second Red Sea front alongside the Hormuz standoff. Rate markets threw a tantrum — July hike odds near 47%, September at 82% — as jobless claims hit a 1969 low leave the Fed with zero cover on oil-driven inflation. Oracle slid despite nearing a $20B Meta deal.
MIB Daily: MU +19% / Nasdaq 30K / IRGC Airstrikes — Semiconductors Win, Energy Fades, PCE Thursday Decides
MU surged +19% after UBS tripled its price target to $1,625, lifting Nasdaq past 30,000 and S&P 500 to records. Overnight US airstrikes on IRGC targets imperiled the ceasefire, sending Brent near $100 and gasoline to $4.56/gal — a four-year high. Energy equities (CVX -3.5%, XOM -3.3%) fell despite the crude surge as markets priced Iranian supply re-entry. SpaceX received FTSE Russell fast-entry eligibility for its $1.75T IPO. Consumer Confidence slipped as two-thirds of consumers cut spending on inflation.
MIB Daily: Bond Market Now Pricing US Fiscal Credibility, Not the Fed — 30Y 5.198%, Oil $111, NVDA Wednesday
30-year Treasury yield hit 5.198% — a 19-year high — sending equities to a third straight loss as markets reprice US fiscal credibility. Trump confirmed one hour from Iran strike; Gulf allies intervened as IEA warns emergency reserves nearly exhausted. Fed Governor Waller flagged rate-hike risk; April FOMC minutes (4-way dissent, most since 1992) release Wednesday 2 PM ET. SNDK +3.77% on 60% EPS beat and 233% data-center surge; NVDA Wednesday AMC.
MIB: Yields Won Monday at 4.62% — $66.8B Utility AI Bet, $112 Brent; Rotate Into Energy and Financials, Exit REITs and Long-Tech
NextEra acquires Dominion Energy in a $66.8B deal to lock in AI data center power demand across Northern Virginia (D +9.4%, NEE -4.6%). The 10-year held a 52-week high at 4.623%, driving a 45% probability of a December rate hike with 2026 cuts fully priced out. Trump postponed the Iran strike; Brent surged +2.68% to $112 as Hormuz supply destruction continues. Seagate’s CEO warned AI capacity is years away — MU -6%, AMAT -5.3% as SOX slides pre-NVDA May 20.
MIB: S&P 500 All-Time High on Earnings Strength as GDP Miss, Oil Blockade, and No-Cut Odds Dominate
Trump’s Hormuz blockade sent Brent to $126 intraday (settling $114); US gasoline hits $4.30/gallon, threatening $190B in annualized spending losses. S&P 500 set record 7,209 — best April since 2020 — as GOOGL, CAT, and LLY each surged ~10% on earnings beats while META fell -8.65% on $145B AI capex without ROI clarity. Q1 GDP +2.0% (slight miss), PCE 3.5%, ECI +0.9% — markets price 77% odds of no Fed cuts in 2026; Warsh clears Senate Banking 13-11, confirmation due May 11.
MIB: Paper-Thin S&P/Nasdaq Records as Hormuz Re-Escalates, OpenAI Decouples from Microsoft, & Powell Convenes His Final FOMC
S&P 500 (+0.12%) and Nasdaq (+0.01%) eked out paper-thin records as Brent spiked above $101 on stalled Hormuz talks. Trump cancelled Pakistan envoys; IEA warned supply won’t recover for two years. Qualcomm surged 12% on a report OpenAI is building an AI smartphone chip with QCOM and MediaTek. Microsoft-OpenAI exclusivity ended, freeing OpenAI to deploy on AWS/GCP. Powell’s likely final FOMC opens Tuesday; Warsh Senate vote Wednesday. Verizon posted its first positive Q1 phone adds in 13 years.
MIB: Iran Deadline, Apple CEO Transition, and Record Retail Sales Crush Rate-Cut Hopes
Iran ceasefire deadline Wednesday sent Brent crude surging toward $100 (S&P 500 -0.63%). Apple dropped a bombshell — Tim Cook stepping down, John Ternus in as CEO September 1 (AAPL -2.52%). Amazon’s $25B Anthropic deal is the largest AI infrastructure bet yet (AMZN +2.2%). Retail sales surged 1.7% but record gas station receipts flattered the number, crushing rate-cut hopes. UNH beat big (+6.96%); GE Aerospace sold off despite a 25% EPS beat (GE -5.56%).
