Nasdaq 100: +3.25%
S&P 500: +1.21%
My portfolio: +3.16%
Market pulse
American equities advanced, with technology again setting the pace. The Nasdaq 100 rose 3.25%, comfortably ahead of the S&P 500’s 1.21% gain. Renewed enthusiasm for AI applications and the computing infrastructure behind them supplied the strongest support. The week also exposed the limits of that optimism: rising bond yields and renewed inflation concerns repeatedly interrupted the advance.
The clearest positive catalyst was the rapid adoption of Meta’s Muse AI assistant. Reuters reported 2.8 million downloads in its first two weeks, strengthening expectations for a new source of commercial revenue. Investors also reassessed the processing capacity needed by increasingly autonomous AI agents. Meta, Intel and AMD rallied sharply on Monday, while the semiconductor index gained 4.3%. Meta Connect subsequently extended that narrative through new devices and additional commerce partnerships.
Oil and diplomacy remained important sources of volatility. Falling crude prices and Treasury yields helped Monday’s advance, as investors considered the possibility of improved Middle Eastern supply and progress in negotiations. That relief proved fragile. Oil rebounded as uncertainty over Iran and shipping routes persisted, keeping energy costs central to the inflation outlook. The market continued to respond to changes in the prospects for de-escalation.
Economic strength complicated the interest-rate outlook. Wednesday’s flash composite PMI reached 58.4, its highest level since July 2021, while Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr stressed that inflation was still too high and further policy adjustments were likely to be needed. Treasury yields rose, increasing the pressure on equity valuations. Following the previous week’s rate increase, investors were assessing how much additional tightening might follow. Strong activity supported the earnings outlook while limiting the prospect of relief from borrowing costs.
Crowd vs. price
The week rewarded evidence that a promising technology could find an audience and create additional demand. Meta’s early adoption figures strengthened its commercialization story, while Intel and AMD benefited from expectations that AI agents would need more general-purpose computing capacity. Investors were already pricing the infrastructure implications of wider adoption, even though the eventual revenue opportunity remains uncertain.
Holdings & Watchlist Notes
Intel: +13.26%
Intel’s advance was concentrated in Monday’s approximately 12% surge, as investors reassessed the server-processor demand that could follow wider use of autonomous AI assistants. Meta’s Muse supplied the immediate catalyst, and Wednesday’s plans to extend it across more devices and services reinforced the outlook. Intel rallied again on Thursday before giving back some ground on Friday. The investment case driving the move centred on future CPU demand; the strength of the rally reflected how sharply investors revised those expectations.