Happy Monday—I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend!
Markets opened roughly flat this morning, with the S&P 500 near record highs. It’s a busy week ahead, with key readings on inflation (CPI and PPI), along with the latest retail sales figures. These releases follow last Friday’s April payroll report, which showed growth exceeding expectations for the second consecutive month.
We are also expecting the highly anticipated Trump–Xi summit, with discussions likely to include Iran, nuclear policy, trade, and AI. Given the number of unknowns—particularly surrounding Iran—the market has continued to rely on strong corporate earnings and enthusiasm around AI spending.
As I’ve noted over the past few weeks, the current setup suggests that any meaningful progress on an Iran deal will likely support markets moving higher for longer, backed by solid fundamentals. If tomorrow’s CPI reading comes in line with expectations, I believe the upward momentum we’ve been experiencing will continue, even amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainty.
Patience has been rewarded thus far, and that trend should persist as geopolitical discussions evolve.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or comments. Attached is this week’s Market Strategy Radar Screen Report from John Stoltzfus, Chief Investment Strategist at Oppenheimer Asset Management.
Have a great week!