SPX, QQQ hit record highs as Cerebras IPO surges 89 percent; inflation lingers

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both finished at fresh record highs on May 14, with broad-based tech strength offsetting concerns about sticky inflationThe rate at which prices rise across an economy. and energy-driven margin pressure. The Cerebras IPOInitial Public Offering - a company's first public sale of stock., which opened 89 percent above its $24 listing price after raising $5.55 billion in an upsized offering, signaled robust institutional appetite for specialized AI compute hardware beyond the Mag 7 complex. NVIDIA hit a new milestone market cap of $5.5 trillion as Jensen Huang traveled to Beijing as part of President Trump's delegation to meet Xi Jinping, bolstering sentiment around potential easing of Chinese export restrictions on advanced chips. The S&P 500 closed near all-time highs on retail sales strength and broadening momentumThe empirical fact that winners keep winning over the medium term. across semiconductor and cloud infrastructure names.

Tech and AI led the session, with semiconductor stocks, chipmakers, and software names pushing higher on the Cerebras narrative and continued institutional call buying. The Magnificent Seven saw over $249 million in single-leg bullish call premium traded on May 13, with NVDA, TSLA, and AAPL accounting for 46 percent of activity. A second major driver came from Solana, which attracted $63.6 million in ETFExchange-Traded Fund - a basket of securities trading like a single stock. net inflows over the past week; tokenized stocks trading on Solana are approaching $400 million in market cap as retail discovered on-chain equity exposure. Energy lagged the broader market, caught between inflationThe rate at which prices rise across an economy. concerns and oil supply disruptions: Hormuz oil flows collapsed nearly 30 percent (6 million barrels per day) in Q1 2026 due to the US-Israeli war on Iran, pushing crude higher and triggering margin compression for energy-import-dependent sectors. Financials and Transportation also trailed, weighed by higher rate expectations; the 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 5 percent, its highest since July, as US producer prices surged 6 percent year-over-year in April, the fastest pace since 2022.

Single-name standouts included Cerebras Systems, which opened at $45.36 (89 percent above $24 IPOInitial Public Offering - a company's first public sale of stock. price) on $5.55 billion in demand, signaling appetite for AI infrastructure beyond incumbents. NVIDIA extended gains to a fresh all-time high ($5.5 trillion market cap), buoyed by the Beijing summit narrative and reports that the US approved H200 chip sales to 10 Chinese companies. ARM Holdings and Broadcom rallied on spillover semiconductor enthusiasm and Cerebras' traction. On the bearish side, energy stocks struggled: oil was pressured by macro rate concerns even as Hormuz flows collapsed 30 percent, signaling an imbalance between supply shocks and demand destruction from higher rates. Crypto-linked equities Coinbase and Riot gained on Senate progress on the CLARITY Act, which advanced in committee on May 14 and signals potential regulatory clarity for digital assets.

Cross-asset moves: the US dollar index posted modest strength as the 10-year Treasury yield surged to 5.0 percent, highest since July, reflecting inflationThe rate at which prices rise across an economy. surprise and extended rate-hold expectations. WTI crude climbed further as Hormuz disruptions persisted, though upside was capped by concern over demand destruction from higher rates. Gold fluctuated between modest gains and losses as investors weighed Fed rate path. Bitcoin and Ethereum both rallied modestly on Senate CLARITY Act progress, which would split SEC/CFTC oversight and is expected to clear committee soon.

After-hours so far: Blackstone Digital Infrastructure debuted for trading after a $1.8 billion IPOInitial Public Offering - a company's first public sale of stock., listing on NYSE. No major earnings reactions have hit the tape within the window, though deltaHow much an option's price changes per $1 move in the underlying. Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian discussed rising fuel costs and industry consolidation on Bloomberg earlier in the day. Tomorrow's setup will focus on whether momentumThe empirical fact that winners keep winning over the medium term. in Cerebras and the Trump-Xi summit can sustain through geopolitical uncertainty and persistent inflationThe rate at which prices rise across an economy.; the 5 percent 10-year yield sets a ceiling for multiple expansion if macro data continues to surprise hot.

Key overnight catalysts include sentiment around Trump's Beijing meetings (ongoing through May 14-15) and any CPI print shifts; markets will also track Hormuz oil flows and Iran conflict escalation risk, which could spike crude further and reignite stagflation fears.