The Markets (as of market close May 29, 2026)

Wall Street ended the week with broad gains, record-setting index performances, and a notable shift toward broader market participation beyond tech and AI shares. The Dow, the S&P 500, the NASDAQ, and the Global Dow each finished the week higher. The S&P 500 extended an eight-week winning streak, while the Dow recorded new highs. Markets swung throughout last week as news alternated between progress and tension in the U.S.-Iran ceasefire negotiations. Reports of a potential ceasefire helped ease oil-supply fears, influencing sharp moves in oil prices and Treasury yields.

Stock Market Indexes

Market/Index	2025 Close	Prior Week	As of 5/29	Weekly Change	YTD Change
DJIA	48,063.29	50,579.70	51,032.46	0.90%	6.18%
NASDAQ	23,241.99	26,343.97	26,972.62	2.39%	16.05%
S&P 500	6,845.50	7,473.47	7,580.06	1.43%	10.73%
Russell 2000	2,481.91	2,869.23	2,919.34	1.75%	17.62%
Global Dow	6,169.34	6,874.82	6,899.16	0.35%	11.83%
fed. funds target rate	3.50%-3.75%	3.50%-3.75%	3.50%-3.75%	0 bps	0 bps
10-year Treasuries	4.16%	4.55%	4.45%	-10 bps	23 bps
US Dollar-DXY	98.26	99.30	98.93	-0.37%	0.68%
Crude Oil-CL=F	$57.46	$96.19	$87.87	-8.65%	52.92%
Gold-GC=F	$4,323.90	$4,510.30	$4,573.00	1.39%	5.76%

Chart reflects price changes, not total return. Because it does not include dividends or splits, it should not be used to benchmark performance of specific investments.

Last Week’s Economic News

• According to the second estimate, gross domestic product accelerated at an annualized rate of 1.6% in the first quarter of 2026. In the fourth quarter of 2025, GDP increased 0.5%. Personal consumption expenditures (PCE), a measure of consumer spending and the primary driver of GDP, rose 1.4% in the first quarter, a decrease from the 1.9% rise in the fourth quarter.
• Personal income was virtually flat in April after advancing 0.5% in March. Disposable personal income (personal income less personal current taxes) decreased 0.1%. Personal consumption expenditures increased 0.5%. The PCE price index, a measure of inflation, rose 0.4% in April after increasing 0.7% in March. Core prices (excluding food and energy) increased 0.2% in April. Since April 2025, the PCE price index rose 3.8%, which was the largest 12-month gain since the index rose 4.0% for the year ended May 2023. Core prices advanced 3.3% since April 2025.
• New orders for manufactured durable goods in April, up two consecutive months, increased $25.5 billion, or 7.9%, to $346.0 billion. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 1.1%. Excluding defense, new orders increased 8.1%. Transportation equipment, also up two consecutive months, led the overall increase, rising 21.5%.
• The international trade in goods deficit was $82.4 billion in April, down $2.9 billion, or 3.4%, from March. Exports of goods for April were $219.7 billion, $8.5 billion, or 4.0%, more than March exports. Imports of goods for April were $302.1 billion, $5.6 billion, or 1.9%, more than March imports.
• Sales of new single-family houses in April 2026 were 6.2% below the March 2026 rate and 11.3% under the April 2025 estimate. Inventory of new single-family homes for sale in April represented a supply of 9.4 months at the current sales rate. The median sales price of new houses sold in April was $422,500, which was 8.0% above the March price of $391,100 and 2.2% higher than the April 2025 price of $413,600. The average sales price of new houses sold in April was $508,800. This was 0.7% above the March price of $505,200 but 1.1% below the April 2025 price of $514,300.
• For the week ended May 23, there were 215,000 new claims for unemployment insurance, an increase of 5,000 from the previous week’s level, which was revised up by 1,000. According to the Department of Labor, the advance rate for insured unemployment claims for the week ended May 16 was 1.2%, unchanged from the prior week’s rate. The advance number of those receiving unemployment insurance benefits during the week ended May 16 was 1,786,000, an increase of 15,000 from the previous week’s level, which was revised down by 11,000. States and territories with the highest insured unemployment rates for the week ended May 9 were New Jersey (2.1%), Washington (2.1%), California (2.0%), Massachusetts (1.9%), Rhode Island (1.8%), Oregon (1.7%), Nevada (1.6%), New York (1.6%), Puerto Rico (1.6%), and Illinois (1.5%). The largest increases in initial claims for unemployment insurance for the week ended May 16 were in Ohio (+941), Missouri (+641), Pennsylvania (+433), Massachusetts (+323), and Connecticut (+245), while the largest decreases were in Florida (-1,940), California (-1,398), Michigan (-660), Georgia (-611), and Kentucky (-594).
• The national average retail price for regular gasoline was $4.475 per gallon on May 25, $0.015 per gallon below the prior week’s price but $1.315 per gallon higher than a year ago. Also, as of May 25, the East Coast price decreased $0.001 to $4.304 per gallon; the Midwest price dipped $0.047 to $4.352 per gallon; the Gulf Coast price rose $0.038 to $3.989 per gallon; the Rocky Mountain price decreased $0.030 to $4.557 per gallon; and the West Coast price declined $0.036 to $5.569 per gallon.

Eye on the Week Ahead

The jobs report for May is out this week. While job growth slowed during the first quarter of the year, it has picked up somewhat over the past few months.