Friday, May 29th, 2026
Pre-market futures are mostly hanging onto gains following another up-day in the markets Thursday. Trading volume has slowed noticeably this week, as is wont to happen when indexes are at all-time highs and the outlook in certain key areas are murky. Only the small-cap Russell 2000 is -5 points at this hour; the Dow is +138, the S&P 500 — looking for its ninth-straight day in the green — is +10 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq +40 points.
Oil prices are down slightly again despite new sanctions on Iranian oil last night, as well as some staticky sabre-rattling from the head negotiator in Iran this morning. As always, it’s important to keep abreast of developments in the region, although we continue to see investors on a slightly bullish footing — there’s always a chance a peace agreement might be real this time. WTI stands at $87 per barrel (/bbl) and Brent crude is $92/bbl.
Leading the way this morning is Dell Technologies DELL, which is trading up +34% this morning following its blowout Q1 report after yesterday’s close. The company reported its fastest sales growth since it returned to the public market in 2018, with AI server revenues up more than +750% from a year ago. Customer count is +50% from six months ago and now above 5K. Shares are now up +273% over the past year. For more on DELL’s earnings, click here.
Trade & Inventories Results Improve Incrementally
Advanced U.S. Trade in Goods for April trimmed admirably to -$82.4 billion from a downwardly revised -$85.3 billion the previous month. Total Exports and Imports both rose in the month, by $8.5 billion and $5.6 billion, respectively, and that difference marks the improvement in the headline figure. Seasonally adjusted auto goods and food, feed & beverage both came in lighter month over month; everything else grew.
April Retail Inventories rose another +0.7%, +3.0% year over year to $827.3 billion. Wholesale Inventories gained +0.5% from an upwardly revised +1.5% for March. Durable goods were up +0.9% versus non-durables, which came in -0.2%. Total wholesale inventories tallied $938.6 billion.
What to Expect from the Market Today
While we are seeing higher highs virtually every day in market trading, there’s no denying volumes are coming down. We expect something similar on this final trading session of the week, as summer schedules begin to enter the picture. And, as we’ve come to expect, weekend news about the Strait of Hormuz are projected to continue dominating headlines. Investors look to continue hedging toward a peaceful outcome, if only to not be left in the dust by a surprise agreement.
After today’s opening bell, the Chicago Business Barometer for May is expected to tick up for the first time in three months, back above the crucial 50-level which depicts growth: 50.8. The 12-month high came in at 57.7 back in February. Generally speaking, however, we have been hovering around that 50 threshold for the better part of four years.
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