Market snapshot: a barrage of cheer excites Wall Street
US stocks are flying as investors pounce on any number of positive catalysts, but gains are harder to come by over here. ii's head of markets explains.
29th May 2026 08:24
by Richard Hunter from interactive investor
The appetite for the AI trade continues unabated, as apparently insatiable demand for stocks at the centre of the revolution remain in focus.
Cloud-based data platform provider Snowflake beat on top and bottom lines for the second quarter which, coupled with an upbeat guidance statement, sent the shares on a 36% tear. The company also plans to spend $6 billion on Amazon Web Services over the next five years.
In after-hours trade, Dell Technologies Inc Ordinary Shares - Class C soared by 39% following an upgrade to its revenue forecast, while in Hong Kong computer manufacturer Lenovo is on for a weekly gain of 50% after strong buying interest.
The torrent of enthusiasm did not stop there, as AI company Anthropic revealed that it had raised $65 billion in its latest funding round, valuing the Claude maker at some $965 billion ahead of a possible float later this year. Meanwhile, memory stocks also joined the party, with gains of 4.2% and 4.6% for Qualcomm Inc and Advanced Micro Devices Inc respectively.
Elsewhere, newsflow was also positive. Reports suggested that the US and Iran were on the cusp of agreeing a framework which would result in a 60-day memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire. While this is a potentially promising development, the two main sticking points of Iran’s nuclear programme and a largely closed Strait of Hormuz are still at the centre of negotiations. In addition, while the oil price drifted lower on the news, it is widely accepted that any return to normal oil supplies will take some time, even after a final agreement.
Bullish sentiment was further underlined by the release of the latest Personal Consumption Expenditures index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation. A rise of 0.4% in April compared to an expected 0.5%, although annualised to 3.8% the headline inflation rate was higher than the 3.5% recorded in March and well above the Fed’s ultimate 2% target. However, the marginal gain adds little pressure on the Fed to consider hiking interest rates, which would be anathema for investors.
Taken together, the barrage of cheer lifted each of the main indices to fresh record closing highs. The Dow Jones is now up by 5.4% so far this year, eclipsed by the more tech-focused S&P500 and Nasdaq indices, which have added 10.5% and 15.8% respectively. In addition, Dow futures are currently pointing to a cautiously positive move for each at the open later today.
Largely unable to participate in the euphoria surrounding the AI trade given its relative lack of tech focus, the FTSE100 limped to a marginally positive open.
Given their size and therefore impact on the index, oil majors BP and Shell followed the oil price down, although this was enough to enable a slight bounce in the shares of British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group SA. Endeavour Mining and Fresnillo topped the leaderboard after a slight revival in the gold price, while there was also some support for both BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce Holdings.
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These tentative gains take the premier index to a rise of 5.1% so far this year, although remaining some 4.6% away from the record high recorded in February. For the time being, investor focus has returned to high growth sectors and away from the more stable and defensive sectors which litter the FTSE100, and it remains to be seen where the next positive catalyst will come from for the index to regain the highly positive momentum of earlier this year.
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