By Teresa Rivas
Holding Pattern. Let's hear it for lazy winning: Stocks went almost nowhere today, but that was still enough to create new records.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2%, while the S&P 500 also inched 0.2% higher and the Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.1%. Those measly gains were good enough for the latter two to notch fresh highs, their 16th and 12th so far in 2026, respectively.
Aside from those accomplishments though, there wasn't much happening in the markets on Monday. Roughly 90% of S&P 500 companies have already delivered earnings results for the quarter, and with the exception of a handful of reports -- and none from heavy-hitters -- the day was a quiet one. Investor attention is focused squarely on events later in the week, including inflation data and a meeting between the U.S. and China.
Sure, there's still a war going on, and the impasse in the Gulf shows no signs of ending as the U.S. and Iran fail to reach a peace agreement. But that's exactly why energy was the market's best performing sector today by a wide margin. And Wall Street has pointedly refused to be flustered by the conflict in recent weeks, particularly after excitement over robust corporate earnings.
Those reports are starting to peter out now, but they could still move markets. After all, Nvidia doesn't announce earnings until next week, and upcoming calls from major retailers like Walmart and Target could either calm or stoke fears about the consumer.
But no matter what happens, this quarter has shown that artificial intelligence optimism is widely considered to be the gift that will keep giving. "Every major cloud provider has signaled that AI infrastructure remains supply-constrained, not demand-constrained," writes Ameriprise Chief Market Strategist Anthony Saglimbene. "Simply put, it likely means the investment cycle has a demand floor that extends well beyond the current quarter."
In short, Wall Street welcomes our robot overlords.
The Hot Stock: Lumentum Holdings +16.5% The Biggest Loser: Dollar General -7.6%
Best Sector: Energy +2.6% Worst Sector: Communication Services -2.3%
Bigger Things Ahead
Indexes may have scraped their way to new highs by the skin of their teeth today, but there's the possibility for bigger moves later this week.
The first could come as early as tomorrow in the form of the consumer price index reading for April, which will show the effects of higher gas prices. "This week's CPI report may do more than confirm another uncomfortable inflation print," writes 22V Research's Jordi Visser. "If April headline CPI comes in near the current 0.6% monthly consensus, after March's 0.9% jump, the last two months will look a lot more like 2022 than the disinflation story markets have been telling themselves."
That said, his own firm's investor poll found more than half of respondents "believe that the market reaction to CPI will be mixed/negligible," for the sixth straight month.
But there are also potential fireworks Thursday when President Donald Trump travels to China to meet with President Xi Jinping.
Obviously Iran will be on the agenda: China, like other nations, wants the Strait of Hormuz reopened and has actively tried to sway Iran in the past, including hosting its foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi. The meeting may be productive -- or significant -- in other ways as well. After all, a number of corporate executives will be accompanying Trump on his trip, including Kelly Ortberg of Boeing and Sanjay Mehrotra of Micron Technology. That doesn't guarantee deals will be made, but it does mean more motivation to get at least some done.
The Calendar
D-Wave Quantum, Franco-Nevada, JBS, Oklo, On Holding, Qnity Electronics, Venture Global, and Zebra Technologies report quarterly results tomorrow.
The National Federation of Independent Business releases its Small Business Optimism Index for April. The consensus call is for a 96 reading, little changed from March, and slightly less than the 52-year average of 98.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the consumer price index for April. Economists forecast a 3.7% year-over-year increase, four-tenths of a percentage point more than in March. The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, is expected to rise 2.7%, compared with 2.6% previously. If estimates prove correct the headline CPI would be the highest annual rate of change since September 2023.
-- Dan Lam
What We're Reading Today
-- Space Stock ETFs Are Hot. 1 Owns SpaceX Before IPO
-- More Bad News at KKR's Private Credit Fund
-- Tech Is Keeping the Market Afloat. There Could Be a Pullback on the
Horizon.
-- Geopolitical Fear Is Reshaping Investor Behavior. How to Avoid
Overreacting.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 11, 2026 19:55 ET (23:55 GMT)
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