US equities closed out May with a ninth straight weekly advance as oil collapsed, yields softened, and tech earnings re-rated the AI trade higher. The VIX printed 15.32 — the kind of reading that says the bid is wide and hedges are cheap.

The Week in the Indices

Tech ran the tape. The Nasdaq 100 added 3.33% to 738.3, a clean leadership print that pulled the S&P 500 up 1.85% to 756.5 and the Russell 2000 along for the ride at +2.81%. The Dow lagged at +1.52%, a tell that the rotation favored growth and high-beta over old-economy cyclicals. Both the S&P and Nasdaq tagged fresh intraday all-time highs Tuesday after Memorial Day, with the S&P now nine weeks green — the longest streak since 2004.

The VIX dropped 8.26% to 15.32, breaking below the 15-handle that historically marks complacency rather than just calm. Realized vol has compressed alongside it. A sub-15 print into a Fed-hold regime with sticky inflation is a setup that rewards trend-following but punishes anyone left short gamma into a surprise.

Sector Winners & Losers

The week’s leaderboard told a clean story. Technology (XLK) topped sectors at +6.95% to $191, more than triple the index. Materials (XLB) ran +2.26% on the copper bid, Consumer Discretionary (XLY) added +1.83%, and Industrials (XLI) matched the Dow at +1.52%. Healthcare (XLV) lagged at +0.89% — a defensive that nobody wanted.

The losers told the macro story. Energy (XLE) dropped 4.80% to $56.29, the direct read on WTI’s 8.92% collapse as Iran de-escalation odds rose. Financials (XLF) also leaked 0.29% as the 10Y yield’s drop flattened the curve and pressured net interest margin math. This is a risk-on tape with a peace-and-disinflation overlay — long tech, short energy, fade the defensives. Whether that holds depends on whether oil’s drop is policy-driven or demand-driven.

Rates, Commodities & the Dollar

The 10Y Treasury yield fell 2.90% to 4.453% and the 30Y dropped 2.33% to 4.993% — a parallel shift lower that gave duration assets and long-duration tech the green light. Gold added 0.66% to $4,570, a modest risk hedge bid that didn’t disturb the equity rally. Copper rose 2.19% to $6.394, the cyclical growth proxy holding up alongside Materials’ outperformance.

WTI’s 8.92% drop to $87.76 was the week’s macro headline. Trump pushed off an Iran determination, the geopolitical risk premium bled out, and the move took inflation expectations down with it — the rate-tech-oil triangle did exactly what the textbook says. DXY slipped 0.25% to 98.94 as yields fell; EUR/USD added 0.33% to 1.166, GBP/USD +0.18% to 1.346, USD/JPY +0.19% to 159.3. A weaker dollar plus lower yields is the cleanest possible setup for risk assets, and the tape responded.

What Drove the Week

Three drivers stacked. First, the Iran de-escalation trade pulled oil sharply lower, dragged yields with it, and cleared the path for tech multiples to expand. Second, tech earnings re-rated the AI capex thesis: Dell rallied 33% on AI server demand, Snowflake jumped on a beat-and-raise quarter, Micron crossed a $1 trillion market cap on chip cycle optimism, and ServiceNow capped its strongest month as software’s AI overhang lifted. Caterpillar’s 59% AI-trade rally extended the theme into industrials.

Third, April core PCE came in at 3.3% year over year — sticky and above the Fed’s 2% target, but no worse than feared. With the Fed funds target at 3.50%–3.75% and consensus on hold, the data didn’t break the soft-landing narrative. The retail tape stayed split: Gap and American Eagle were both hit on guidance, but neither blamed the consumer — execution problems, not macro.

Week Ahead

Heading into next week the bias stays risk-on, but the VIX at 15.32 is the warning sign — there’s no fear premium left to compress further. Watch S&P 500 757–760 as the breakout extension level; a clean hold above keeps the trend intact, a rejection there is the first real test of the nine-week run. The single biggest catalyst is the May payrolls print Friday — the Fed has no room for a hot wage number, and the bond market is positioned for the opposite. Luna3’s read: trend-followers stay long, but trim into strength rather than press it.

Read next: Market Pulse · VIX Term Structure · What Is a Bond?

Sources:
– [Stock Market Today (May 29, 2026) — TheStreet](https://www.thestreet.com/stock-market-today/stock-market-today-dow-jones-sp-500-nasdaq-updates-may-29-2026)
– [S&P 500 record close, Micron leads tech rally — CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/25/stock-futures-today-live-updates.html)
– [Stocks Flat Following Iran Skirmishes, PCE Data — Schwab](https://www.schwab.com/learn/story/stock-market-update-open)
– [US Market Outlook: PCE, GDP, and Big Earnings This Week — HeyGoTrade](https://www.heygotrade.com/en/news/weekly-economic-outlook-2026-05-25/)