Alain’s holdings
| Symbol | Name | Price | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VOO | Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | 678.04 | +5.50 | +0.82% |
| QQQ | Invesco QQQ Trust | 711.23 | +16.32 | +2.35% |
| XIU.TO | iShares S&P/TSX 60 ETF | 50.09 | +0.36 | +0.72% |
| VRT | Vertiv Holdings Co. | 339.97 | -0.04 | -0.01% |
Jobs Blowout Sends Nasdaq to 26,000. Six Straight Winning Weeks. AMD Crosses $700 Billion.
Wall Street closed out the week in style. A stunning April jobs report — nearly double expectations — sent stocks surging,
the Nasdaq crossed 26,000 for the first time ever, and AMD officially joined the $700 billion club.
The S&P 500 advanced 0.84% to end at 7,398.93, while the
Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.71% to 26,247.08.
Both indexes hit new all-time intraday highs and closed at records.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up just 12.19 points, or 0.02%, to settle at 49,609.16 — pulled back by energy and materials weakness. MSNMSN
All three major averages posted weekly gains, propelled by strong earnings. The Nasdaq climbed 4.5% on the week, while the S&P 500 gained 2.3%. Both posted six straight winning weeks — the longest win streak since 2024 for both indexes. MSN
💼 The Jobs Report: A Stunning Blowout
The U.S. added 115,000 jobs in April — well above the Dow Jones consensus estimate of just 55,000. Job gains were concentrated in health care (+37,000), transportation and warehousing (+30,000), and retail trade (+22,000). Federal government employment continued its decline, shedding another 9,000 positions — down 348,000 or 11.5% since October 2024. Yahoo Finance
Nonfarm productivity in Q1 2026 rose 0.8%, slowing from Q4 2025’s 1.6% growth. Average hourly earnings rose 0.2% month-over-month to $37.41, up 3.6% year-over-year — hot enough to keep the Fed on hold, but not hot enough to panic markets. TRADING ECONOMICS
The unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%. “The economy is so much better than what the doom crew has been saying. There are a lot of headwinds — higher oil prices, sticky inflation — but the labor market is simply not breaking,” one analyst told TheStreet. Charles Schwab
💻 AMD Crosses $700 Billion
Chipmaker AMD crossed the $700 billion market cap threshold following this week’s earnings beat, according to LSEG data. The company was valued at $713 billion at Friday’s close — joining Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta in the exclusive club. AMD is up more than 66% in 2026 alone. Nvidia gained another 2.80% on Friday, while Cisco Systems led the Dow with a 3.26% gain and Apple added 2.22%. MSNBloomberg
🕊️ Iran: Ceasefire Holds — Barely
Stocks shrugged off fresh military exchanges between the U.S. and Iran. The ceasefire technically held, though both sides accused the other of violations overnight. U.S.-Iran talks are expected to resume as early as next week, keeping oil in a $93–$97 range. Charles Schwab
Markets see the Fed as slightly tilted toward a rate increase by end-2026, with about a 17% probability of a hike versus 12.6% for a cut, according to CME FedWatch data. Four FOMC members dissented at the April 29 meeting — the most dissents since 1992 — underscoring just how divided the Fed is on its next move. CNBC
📈 S&P 500 to 10,000? One Strategist Says Yes
Mary Ann Bartels, chief investment strategist at Sanctuary Wealth, told CNBC that “the S&P can hit 10,000 to 13,000” within three years, pointing to AI productivity gains and the earnings momentum of this season as drivers of a structural bull market. MSN
On the other side of that debate: Michael Burry of “Big Short” fame warned Friday that the market’s fixation on AI is beginning to resemble the final stages of the dot-com bubble. “Stocks are not up or down because of jobs or consumer sentiment,” Burry wrote. “They are going straight up because they have been going straight up.” Burry added to his Nvidia January 2027 puts at a $115 strike price, his QQQ puts for January 2027 at $550, and loaded up on semiconductor ETF SOXX puts at $330 — a massive bet that the chip rally ends badly. MSNYahoo Finance
✈️ Spirit Airlines: It’s Official — The End
Spirit Airlines officially began shutting down operations Friday, leaving travelers stranded after its $500 million government rescue package fell through and liquidation plans were confirmed. Founded in 1983, Spirit was once America’s largest ultra-low-cost carrier. Its demise is a direct casualty of $4+ national gas prices and the war-driven oil shock that squeezed already razor-thin margins beyond recovery and the failed policies of Elizabeth Warren during the Biden administration. . Yahoo Finance
🏆 Today’s Notable Winners
- 🟢 Cisco Systems (CSCO) +3.26% — Led the Dow on strong networking demand tied to AI data center buildout Bloomberg
- 🟢 AMD (AMD) +2.5% — Crossed $700B market cap; up 66%+ in 2026 MSN
- 🟢 Nvidia (NVDA) +2.80% and Apple (AAPL) +2.22% — Continued the week’s AI and tech momentum Bloomberg
- 🟢 Nasdaq Composite — Crossed 26,000 for the first time in history 🎉
📉 Today’s Notable Losers
- 🔴 IBM -2.16%, McDonald’s -1.22%, Visa -1.15% — Modest declines in an otherwise strong session Bloomberg
- 🔴 Energy sector — Continued selling on Iran peace deal optimism and oil’s retreat toward $94
- 🔴 Spirit Airlines (FLYVQ) — Stock goes to zero; liquidation confirmed
🔭 The Week That Was — And What’s Next
This was a week for the history books:
- Dow touched 50,000 intraday
- Nasdaq crossed 25,000 then 26,000
- S&P 500 broke 7,200 then 7,300 then 7,398
- Q1 earnings growth: +27.8% — best since 2021
- Six consecutive weekly wins for both S&P 500 and Nasdaq
Next week: The June 17 Fed meeting will be Kevin Warsh’s first as Chair. Markets are pricing no move, but with inflation sticky and four April dissenters, the new Chair’s first press conference will be closely watched. Iran peace talks, CPI data, and the next wave of retail earnings are all on deck. CNBC
If you’d like to receive these daily market updates directly in your inbox, send me a message with your name and email, and I’ll make sure you receive them before the end of the day. [Contact me here]
Leave a Reply