Falcon’s View – Week ending 22 May 2026
Performance
NASDAQ 100: +1.22%
S&P 500: +0.88%
My portfolio: –2,23%
Market pulse
Between the May 15 and May 22 closes, U.S. equities finished higher despite a volatile macro backdrop: the NASDAQ-100 rose 1.22%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.88%. The main story was a tug-of-war between geopolitical stress, inflation pressure, and Treasury yields on one side, and AI-led earnings momentum on the other. Early in the period, the U.S.–Iran conflict and Strait of Hormuz risk pushed oil prices and inflation expectations higher, lifting Treasury yields and pressuring richly valued growth stocks. Later in the week, equities recovered as investors reacted to signs of possible progress in U.S.–Iran talks and renewed strength in AI-linked technology. Nvidia’s results confirmed strong AI infrastructure demand, but the stock itself sold off in a “sell-the-news” move, while beneficiaries such as AMD, CrowdStrike, and Vistra rallied sharply. Overall, the week’s index gains masked a clear internal split: AI infrastructure, cybersecurity, and power-generation names outperformed, while crowded mega-cap technology and some platform stocks lagged.
Crowd vs. price
Relative investor interest continues to rise among names on my list.
Holdings & Watchlist Notes
Vistra (VST): +11.88%
Vistra rose 11.88% between the May 15 and May 22 closes, driven primarily by a sharp repricing of its exposure to AI-related electricity demand. The key catalyst was PJM’s decision to accelerate its backstop/data-center power procurement timeline to September 2026, which increased investor confidence that independent power producers with dispatchable and nuclear generation could monetize tightening capacity conditions sooner than expected. Vistra was especially well positioned because of its PJM nuclear fleet and existing long-term power agreements with Meta covering more than 2,600 MW of nuclear energy. The move was reinforced by strong recent Q1 results, reaffirmed EBITDA and free-cash-flow guidance, heavy hedging of 2026 generation volumes, and an ongoing buyback program. In short, the market treated Vistra less like a conventional utility and more like a scarce power-infrastructure beneficiary of the AI data-center buildout.