This weekly recap covers 4 to 10 May 2026. As always, market pricing data runs through Friday's close, while the weekend matters for the setup into the following week. The prior week had delivered one of the strongest monthly closes in years. This week tested whether that momentum could survive renewed geopolitical shock — and got a clear answer: when chips are running and earnings are strong, almost nothing stops the tape.
Monday opened with a fresh Hormuz incident. A South Korean vessel was struck by an explosion in the strait, sending the Dow down 1.13% and pulling both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq lower. By Friday, those losses had been erased and then some. The S&P 500 closed at 7,398.93 — up 8% year to date. The Nasdaq reached 26,247.08, up 13% for the year. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index was up 62% year to date. The driver of the reversal was AMD, which surged nearly 19% mid-week on data center chip demand, igniting a rally that pulled Nvidia, Intel, and the entire semiconductor complex with it.
Quick highlights
- Monday fell on Hormuz: a South Korean ship was struck by an explosion in the Strait of Hormuz. S&P 500 -0.41% to 7,200.75, Nasdaq -0.19% to 25,067.80, Dow -1.13% to 48,941.90. Markets at record levels are highly sensitive to geopolitical headlines.
- Tuesday rebounded on chips: the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 4.2% to a new record, with its YTD gain reaching 55%. S&P 500 companies were tracking aggregate Q1 earnings growth of 28% year over year — the strongest since 2021.
- Wednesday was the week's defining session: S&P 500 +1.46% to 7,365.09, Nasdaq +2.03% to 25,838.94, Dow +1.24% to 49,910.59. AMD surged nearly 19%. Brent fell roughly 8% to around $101, as hopes for a U.S.-Iran resolution returned.
- Thursday gave back some gains: S&P 500 -0.38% to 7,337.11, Nasdaq -0.13% to 25,806.20, Dow -0.63% to 49,596.97. Oil settled around $100. Profit-taking in chips after the prior session's surge.
- Friday closed at records again: S&P 500 +0.84% to 7,398.93, Nasdaq +1.71% to 26,247.08, Dow nearly flat at 49,609.16. The market absorbed fresh U.S.-Iran military exchanges in the Gulf and kept climbing.
Numbers snapshot: 4–10 May 2026
- May 4: S&P 500 7,200.75 (-0.41%). Dow 48,941.90 (-1.13%). Nasdaq 25,067.80 (-0.19%). South Korean vessel hit in Hormuz.
- May 5: S&P 500 and Nasdaq at new records. PHLX Semiconductor Index +4.2% to a record, YTD gain 55%. Aggregate Q1 earnings growth for S&P 500 companies tracking at 28% YoY.
- May 6: S&P 500 7,365.09 (+1.46%). Nasdaq 25,838.94 (+2.03%). Dow 49,910.59 (+1.24%). AMD +~19%. Brent -~8% to ~$101.
- May 7: S&P 500 7,337.11 (-0.38%). Nasdaq 25,806.20 (-0.13%). Dow 49,596.97 (-0.63%). Oil ~$100. Profit-taking in semiconductors.
- May 8: S&P 500 7,398.93 (+0.84%). Nasdaq 26,247.08 (+1.71%). Dow 49,609.16 (flat). S&P 500 +8% YTD, Nasdaq +13% YTD.
- YTD scoreboard: Philadelphia Semiconductor Index +62%. S&P 500 +8%. Nasdaq +13%.
1) AMD ignited the week — and the sector followed
The single most important event of the week was AMD's earnings report on the evening of May 5. The company delivered guidance well above expectations, driven by surging demand for data center chips. The stock jumped nearly 19% on May 6 to a record high. That move was not contained to AMD.
Intel rose 4.5% on the same session, pulled upward by the sector enthusiasm. Nvidia added 5.7%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index gained 4.5% in a single day, and its year-to-date gain reached 62% — a number that captures the extraordinary concentration of the 2026 rally in semiconductor names. The sector had effectively become the market's proxy for AI confidence: when chips rally, everything else follows.
The AMD result also answered a question the market had been quietly asking since Meta and Microsoft's mixed reception the prior week: was the AI capex cycle actually producing demand at the chip level? AMD's data center numbers said yes, emphatically. That was enough to restart the risk-on trade even with Hormuz still in the headlines.
2) Geopolitics tried — and failed — to break the tape
Monday's Hormuz incident was a genuine shock. A South Korean vessel struck in the strait is not a routine event — it raised fears of wider disruption to commercial shipping and sent oil back toward levels that had weighed heavily on equities in prior weeks. The Dow's 1.13% decline was the sharpest single-session move in several days.
By Wednesday, the market had moved past it. The combination of AMD's blowout guidance and fresh signals of potential U.S.-Iran progress pushed Brent down roughly 8% in a single session. That oil move was critical: it removed the inflation tail risk that had been the most effective check on equity upside, and it gave the semiconductor rally room to run without the competing headwind of rising energy costs.
Friday showed the market's resilience at its clearest. Reports of fresh military exchanges between U.S. and Iranian forces in the Gulf circulated during the session, and both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq still closed at records. The message was unambiguous: the earnings and AI trade had become strong enough to absorb geopolitical headline risk that would have caused significant selloffs earlier in the year.
3) Earnings growth at 28% — the strongest since 2021
By the time Tuesday's session closed, S&P 500 companies were tracking aggregate Q1 earnings growth of 28% year over year — the strongest since 2021. That number is the foundation of everything the market did this week. High valuations are only sustainable when earnings are growing fast enough to justify them, and 28% growth provides that justification in a way that is difficult to argue with.
Disney and Uber added color from outside the semiconductor space. Disney rose 7.5% after Q2 results beat expectations and the new CEO Josh D'Amaro provided greater strategic visibility. Uber gained 8.5% after delivering a strong Q2 bookings forecast. Both moves showed that the earnings strength was not purely a technology story — consumer-facing businesses with credible forward guidance were also being rewarded.
Super Micro Computer was the most dramatic non-chip winner, surging 24.5% after guidance on Q4 revenues and adjusted profit came in well above expectations. Hut 8 added 35% after announcing a $9.8 billion lease for a data center campus in Texas — a reminder that the AI infrastructure trade was reaching well beyond the chip designers into the physical layer of data center real estate.
4) Amazon's logistics move and the competitive ripple
One of the more strategically interesting stories of the week came from logistics, not technology. On Monday, FedEx and UPS both fell after Amazon opened its logistics network more broadly to third parties — a move that positions Amazon as a direct competitor to established parcel carriers across a much wider base.
The competitive logic is straightforward but consequential. Amazon already operates one of the largest delivery networks in the world, built originally to serve its own retail operations. Opening that network to outside customers converts a cost center into a revenue line while simultaneously putting pressure on FedEx and UPS in a market where margins are already thin. The market's reaction — immediate selling in both incumbents — reflected how seriously investors took the threat.
The episode is also useful for understanding what Amazon has become. The company is no longer primarily a retailer or a cloud provider — it is an infrastructure business that operates across logistics, cloud, advertising and now, more openly, delivery services. That breadth makes it one of the hardest companies to categorize and one of the most consequential competitive forces in any industry it enters.
5) What the week tells you
The first conclusion is that AI beats geopolitics — at least for now. Two Hormuz incidents, fresh military exchanges, oil volatility, and the market still closed at records. The semiconductor trade is generating enough earnings momentum to absorb headline risk that would have derailed the rally earlier in the year.
The second conclusion is that the concentration in semiconductors is extraordinary and probably unsustainable at this pace. A 62% YTD gain in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is the kind of number that historically precedes either a significant correction or an extended consolidation. That does not mean the move was wrong — AMD's results justify a great deal of it. But the risk/reward in chasing the sector at these levels is different from what it was in January.
The third conclusion is that earnings quality matters. Disney, Uber, Super Micro, and AMD all showed the same thing: the market is still willing to pay for growth, but the growth has to be real, visible, and tied to credible forward guidance. Companies that delivered on those criteria were rewarded regardless of sector.
The setup going into the following week was clear: CPI, PPI, retail sales, Trump-Xi meeting, and continued Hormuz developments. The market was rallying more than 16% from its late-March lows. The question was whether the macro data would validate that move — or force a reassessment.
Sources: primary / checkable
- Reuters, U.S. stocks at records despite Hormuz attack, AMD lifts chips: reuters.com
- Investopedia, Markets News, May 4–8, 2026: investopedia.com
- AMD, Q1 2026 earnings and guidance: ir.amd.com
- Reuters, Philadelphia Semiconductor Index hits record, 62% YTD gain: reuters.com
- FactSet / Reuters, S&P 500 Q1 2026 earnings growth tracking at 28% YoY: reuters.com
- Disney, Q2 FY2026 earnings results: thewaltdisneycompany.com
- Uber, Q1 2026 earnings and Q2 bookings guidance: investor.uber.com
- Super Micro Computer, Q4 FY2026 preliminary guidance: ir.supermicro.com
- Reuters, Amazon opens logistics network to third parties; FedEx, UPS decline: reuters.com
- Reuters, Intel foundry in preliminary deal with Apple for chip production: reuters.com