Weekly Market Recap | May 11 – May 17

Analyst Highlights

• Risk assets weakened as yields and oil climbed: Stocks posted their worst day since March as bond yields surged, oil topped $105, and inflation fears pressured sentiment.
• Small caps showed the most equity weakness: The Russell 2000 fell 69% for the week, underperforming the S&P 500, Nasdaq, Dow Jones, and broader Russell 3000.
• Crypto saw broad downside pressure: Solana, Ethereum, Bitcoin, and XRP all declined, with higher-beta crypto assets showing the sharpest weekly losses.
• Energy markets drove macro concerns: WTI crude rose 49% and Brent crude gained 4.85%, reinforcing fears that elevated oil prices could keep inflation sticky.
• Geopolitics stayed central to market direction:S.–Iran escalation, Hormuz disruption, NATO troop concerns, and Russia-Ukraine drone attacks remained key risk drivers.
• AI investment momentum remained strong: Alphabet and other tech giants tapped debt markets for AI spending, while Anthropic, Baidu, and CXMT highlighted continued AI and semiconductor growth.

IPO’s in the week

• Berto Acquisition II (GUACU, Nasdaq) — priced its IPO on May 15, 2026, offering 25,000,000 shares at $10.00 per share. Shares were nearly flat after pricing, rising 05%.
• Energy Transition Acquisition (ETSS.UT, NYSE) — priced its IPO on May 15, 2026, offering 15,000,000 shares at $10.00 per share/unit. Shares traded slightly lower after pricing, declining 10%.
• Exyn Technologies (EXYN, Nasdaq) — priced its IPO on May 15, 2026, offering 2,500,000 shares at $7.75 per share. Shares traded sharply lower after pricing, falling 90%.
• Iron Dome Acquisition (IDACU, Nasdaq) — priced its IPO on May 15, 2026, offering 15,000,000 shares at $10.00 per share/unit. Shares were flat after pricing.
• Patriot Acquisition (PTACU, Nasdaq) — priced its IPO on May 15, 2026, offering 20,00０,０００ shares at $1０.００ per share/unit. Shares traded slightly lower after pricing, declining 7０%.
• VIDA Global (VIDA, NYSE American) — priced its IPO on May 15, 2０２６, offering 3,３３３,３３４ shares at $4.００ per share. Shares traded sharply lower after pricing, falling ００%.
• AIAI Holdings (AIAI, Nasdaq) — priced its IPO on May 14, 2026, offering 69,483,430 shares at $12.00 per share. Shares traded slightly lower after pricing, declining 86%.
• Blackstone Digital Infrastructure Fund (BXDC, NYSE) — priced its IPO on May 14, 2026, offering 87,500,000 shares at $20.00 per share. Shares traded higher after pricing, rising 46%.
• Cerebras Systems (CBRS, Nasdaq) — priced its IPO on May 14, 2026, offering 30,000,000 shares at $185.00 per share. Shares traded lower after pricing, falling 08%.
• EagleRock Land (EROK, NYSE) — priced its IPO on May 14, 2026, offering 17,300,000 shares at $18.5₀ per share. Shares traded lower after pricing, declining 33%.

Additional IPO Activity: Several SPAC and acquisition vehicle offerings also priced during the week， mostly around the standard $1₀.₀₀ per share/unit level， including GSR V Acquisition and Breeze Acquisition. Operating-company listings showed mixed early performance， with notable pressure in Exyn Technologies， VIDA Global， and Cerebras Systems， while Blackstone Digital Infrastructure and Fervo Energy traded modestly higher after pricing.

Markets Weekly

1. S&P 500 closed at 7,408.50, down 4.34 points, or 0.06%, for the week.
2. Russell 1000 closed at 4,017.68, down 6.72 points, or 0.17%, for the week.
3. Russell 2000 closed at 2,793.30, down 77.34 points, or 2.69%, for the week.
4. Russell 3000 closed at 4,187.46, down 11.98 points, or 0.29%, for the week.
5. CBOE VIX closed at 18.43, up 0.05 points, or 0.27%, for the week.
6. Dow Jones closed at 49,526.17, down 178.30 points, or 0.36%, for the week.
7. Nasdaq closed at 26,225.14, down 48.99 points, or 0.19%, for the week.
8. Bitcoin closed at $77,429.35, down $4,298.95, or 5.26%, for the week.
9. Ethereum closed at $2,127.65, down $211.71, or 9.05%, for the week.
10. Solana closed at $85.17, down $12.18, or 12.51%, for the week.
11. XRP closed at $1.4009, down $0.0759, or 5.14%, for the week.
12. Gold closed at $4,555.80, down $162.90, or 3.45%, for the week.
13. Silver closed at $77.16, down $8.33, or 9.74%, for the week.
14. WTI Crude closed at $105.42, up $7.35, or 7.49%, for the week.
15. Brent Crude closed at $109.26, up $5.05, or 4.85%, for the week.

• Global bond yields surged as rising oil prices intensified inflation fears, pressuring long-dated bonds and increasing borrowing-cost risks worldwide.
• Stocks posted their worst day since March as bond yields surged, oil topped $105, and inflation fears pressured risk assets.
• S. let a Russian oil-sales waiver expire despite tight markets, keeping sanctions pressure high as crude supply risks persist.
• ECB’s Stournaras said a modest rate hike could curb inflation without major economic damage, reinforcing global tightening concerns.
• China’s Swap Connect volumes may approach 1 trillion yuan as foreign demand for yuan debt drives stronger hedging activity.
• Treasuries steadied after a global bond selloff, with 30-year yields near 2023 highs as investors watched U.S.–Iran talks.
• Aramco may raise up to $35 billion through asset sales, drawing Wall Street interest as Saudi Arabia seeks investment inflows.
• Goldman said central banks may increase gold purchases, supporting its bullish year-end target despite near-term caution.

Politics Weekly

• Trump repeated war threats against Iran as the Hormuz closure strained energy markets, with oil inventories falling at record pace.
• S. warned allies it may pause troop rotations to Europe, raising concerns over NATO readiness and Russia deterrence.
• Trump urged Xi to expand Visa’s access to China’s payments market, reviving a long-running U.S.–China trade dispute.
• Putin will visit Beijing days after Trump’s trip, underscoring close China-Russia ties amid heightened geopolitical tensions.
• Trump and Xi agreed to create trade and investment boards to address market access and agricultural-product concerns.
• Trump and Japan’s Takaichi reaffirmed alliance strength as Tokyo sought reassurance amid strained China ties and Indo-Pacific tensions.
• Record drone attacks hit Moscow, killing three and targeting an oil refinery as Ukraine defended strikes against Russia’s war escalation.

Technology Advancements in the week

• OpenAI backed a global AI governance body including the U.S. and China as Washington prepared AI talks with Beijing.
• Tech giants sold over $300 billion in debt to fund AI spending, as Alphabet tapped global bond markets.
• Baidu’s AI businesses surpassed legacy ads for the first time, as cloud growth helped offset declining traditional internet .
• Anthropic reportedly discussed raising $30 billion at a $900 billion valuation to fund growing AI compute demand.
• CXMT reported an eightfold sales jump and stronger profits as China’s memory-chip leader moves toward a major IPO.
• AI-assisted crypto hacks raised cybersecurity fears after April attacks stole nearly $600 million and exposed sector vulnerabilities.

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