Wall Street Briefing (May 29): U.S. equities rose across the board on Thursday, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 hitting new record highs, as market pricing of near-term risk continued to narrow; healthcare and technology sectors led gains, with memory and software remaining strong.

Summary: U.S. stocks extended gains on Thursday, with the S&P 500 rising 0.58%, the Nasdaq up 0.91%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 0.05%, and the Russell 2000 advancing 0.57%. Among the four major indexes, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 reached fresh closing highs, while the Dow posted the smallest gain, signaling that market leadership has shifted back toward technology and growth-oriented sectors. The VIX declined to 15.74, down 3.38% on the day, reflecting continued convergence in short-term risk pricing. The dominant market theme was reports that the U.S. and Iran have agreed on a draft deal to extend their ceasefire by 60 days, further reducing geopolitical risk premiums. In sector performance, healthcare and technology outperformed, with memory and software leading gains, while defensive sectors like utilities lagged. Across asset classes, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell 0.58%, gold rose 0.90%, crude oil dropped 0.98%, Bitcoin declined 1.12%, and the U.S. Dollar Index fell 0.23%.

I. Major Events

1. U.S. and Iran Agree on Draft Ceasefire Extension for 60 Days

The core market driver on Thursday was reports that the U.S. and Iran have agreed on a draft deal to extend their ceasefire by 60 days. With the ceasefire window lengthened, markets continued to reduce risk premiums tied to an escalation of Middle East conflict and potential disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. In pricing terms, crude oil and the U.S. dollar weakened further, while risk assets continued rallying in a lower-volatility environment.

2. U.S. GDP/PCE Data Released, Inflation Concerns Remain Contained

The U.S. first-quarter GDP was revised down to 1.6% in the second reading, indicating weaker growth momentum than initially reported. Meanwhile, PCE inflation, while still elevated, broadly aligned with market expectations and did not deliver another unpleasant inflation surprise. This data set reinforced the signal of 'relatively weak growth' while also failing to reignite concerns about runaway inflation. The market reaction included a further decline in the 10-year Treasury yield, allowing high-valuation tech and small-cap stocks to maintain their strength.

II. Major Trends

On Thursday, the market rally was not evenly distributed across indices; instead, growth-style stocks retook leadership. The Nasdaq rose 0.91%, the S&P 500 gained 0.58%, and the Russell 2000 advanced 0.57%, all significantly outperforming the Dow Jones, which edged up just 0.05%. ETF performance mirrored this trend: QQQ rose 0.91%, SPY climbed 0.60%, IWM gained 0.57%, while DIA increased only 0.08%.

The medium-term framework continues to favor growth. Over the past three months, QQQ has surged 21.28%, substantially outpacing DIA’s 3.88% gain. Growth-oriented SPYG rose 16.80%, continuing to outperform value-focused SPYV, which gained just 3.19%. This confirms that technology and high-momentum growth stocks remain the market leaders, rather than traditional defensive or low-valuation sectors.

Market breadth remains narrowly concentrated. SPY has risen 10.30% over three months, compared to RSP’s modest 2.04% gain. Despite the index repeatedly hitting new highs, this performance is still largely driven by large-cap mega-weighted stocks and a few high-momentum segments, with insufficient broad-based participation.

III. Market Sentiment

The VIX closed at 15.74, down 3.38% on the day, moving further into a lower volatility range, reflecting continued convergence in short-term risk pricing. The CNN Fear & Greed Index stood at 60, slightly down from the previous day’s 61, but still within the 'greed' territory.

Options activity continues to reflect a 'stock-specific offense, index-level protection' structure. The CBOE total put/call ratio stood at 0.67, with the index options put/call ratio at 1.15 and the equity options put/call ratio at 0.52. This indicates stronger bullish sentiment in individual stocks, while some hedging remains in place for the broader index—overall, risk appetite was more positive compared to the prior trading session.

IV. Market Scan

1. Index ETFs:Nasdaq ETF QQQ rose 0.91%, S&P 500 ETF SPY gained 0.60%, and Russell 2000 ETF IWM advanced 0.57%, while Dow Jones ETF DIA rose only 0.08%, underscoring investor preference for tech and growth. Among international ETFs, South Korea ETF EWY led with a 4.10% gain, while UK ETF EWU lagged, falling 0.49%.

2. Sector Performance:Health Care (XLV) led gains with a 1.40% rise, closely followed by Technology (XLK) up 1.31%. Utilities (XLU) notably underperformed, dropping 1.13%. Within sub-sectors, DRAM stocks jumped 3.03%, software (IGV) rose 2.83%, copper miners (COPX) gained 2.73%, and aerospace (ITA) climbed 2.21%, highlighting that strong capital flows remain focused on high-momentum and high-beta segments.

3. The Magnificent Seven Tech Stocks:Among the Magnificent Seven, Microsoft rose 3.47%, leading gains, while Netflix declined 1.13%, lagging behind. Microsoft's strength reflects expectations around its proprietary AI models, whereas Netflix clearly fell out of sync with the current tech rally.

4. U.S.-Listed Chinese Stocks:U.S.-listed Chinese stocks continued to diverge. Baidu gained 1.65%, but Futu dropped 4.82%, PDD Holdings fell 4.13%, and JD.com declined 2.35%. Market pricing for these stocks remains cautious, with divergence driven more by individual fundamentals and event-related risks.

5. Cryptocurrencies:Bitcoin fell 1.12%, yet related equities showed significant divergence. Robinhood surged 11.29%, Circle rose 5.46%, while Marathon Digital declined 1.81% and MicroStrategy dropped 1.66%. This indicates that investor positioning across the crypto ecosystem is increasingly based on company-specific business models and trading characteristics, rather than merely tracking Bitcoin’s price movements.

$S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ $SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY.US)$ $NASDAQ 100 Index (.NDX.US)$ $Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ.US)$ $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ $State Street® SPDR® Dow Jones Industrial Average® ETF Trust (DIA.US)$ $Russell 2000 Index (.RUT.US)$ $iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM.US)$ $Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (MAGS.US)$ $USD (USDindex.FX)$ $U.S. 10-Year Treasury Notes Yield (US10Y.BD)$ $iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT.US)$ $XAU/USD (XAUUSD.CFD)$ $SPDR Gold ETF (GLD.US)$ $CBOE Volatility S&P 500 Index (.VIX.US)$ $CME-Bitcoin RR Futures (JUL6) (BTCmain.US)$ $iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA.US)$ $NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$ $Tesla (TSLA.US)$ $Meta Platforms (META.US)$ $Amazon (AMZN.US)$ $Alphabet-C (GOOG.US)$ $Microsoft (MSFT.US)$ $Apple (AAPL.US)$

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