May opened with a stark split in markets: investors kept pushing major US equity benchmarks to fresh records even as manufacturing data pointed to a far harsher inflation backdrop. According to the Concept Trading market snapshot, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both finished at all-time highs on Friday, helped by a strong Apple rally and a sharp rebound in software names, while the Dow lagged as old-economy sectors absorbed the pressure of rising input costs. The same report said the move in tech was being read as proof that capital is still willing to pay for businesses with pricing power and lighter exposure to physical supply chains.
Apple was once again at the centre of that trade. Axios reported that the company’s fiscal second quarter came in slightly ahead of expectations, with revenue of $111.2 billion and earnings of $29.6 billion, or $2.01 a share, even as some supply constraints weighed on Macs and iPhones. The company also said John Ternus will succeed Tim Cook as chief executive in September, while Cook pointed to a strong first half. Separate reports on Apple’s fiscal first quarter showed the group had already posted record revenue, earnings per share, iPhone revenue and services revenue earlier in 2026, underlining why the stock remains a market anchor when sentiment turns defensive.
The broader message from the trading desk was that software is being treated as a refuge from the latest inflation shock. Five9’s surge was interpreted as a sign that artificial intelligence is not yet displacing enterprise software so much as strengthening it, while Cboe’s gains reflected renewed demand for hedges as volatility rises. That pattern contrasted with the pressure on industrial and consumer-facing names, which were hit by a powerful jump in the ISM Prices Paid index and a weaker employment reading, both of which suggest the recovery is becoming more brittle.
The energy backdrop is no less consequential. The Concept Trading note framed the UAE’s departure from OPEC as a structural break that could reshape the market once logistical constraints ease, even if near-term crude supply remains constrained by tensions around the Strait of Hormuz. In that context, the rise in oil prices is feeding directly into manufacturing costs and making it harder for policymakers to argue that inflation is on a clean downward path. For markets, the result is an uneasy combination of record equity highs, rising yields and a renewed stagflation narrative.
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Source: Noah Wire Services