I've Been to the Year 2000

Welcome to the Daily Rip market recap — I’m Kevin Travers, and here’s what you need to know from the markets today. Stocks wrapped up April on a high note, closing at fresh all-time highs and delivering the best monthly return since the COVID rebound. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index posted its strongest month since the year 2000, fueled by solid earnings and renewed optimism in tech.

But don’t get too comfortable — inflation remains stubbornly high, and the Federal Reserve is holding rates steady, setting the stage for a tense May. Let’s break down the key themes. Starting with the macro picture: April’s rally was impressive, but the market is now navigating a tricky landscape.

Inflation is sitting at a three-year high, and the Fed’s pause on rate hikes means investors are watching closely for any signals on future policy. Next week’s labor market data and Fed commentary will be critical in setting the tone for the rest of the quarter. On the sector front, energy dominated the week thanks to a surge in crude oil prices, driven by Middle East supply concerns.

West Texas Intermediate crude hit 102 dollars a barrel before pulling back on Friday, dragging energy stocks down slightly. The energy sector’s strength has been a key driver since the Iran conflict escalated, but with oil prices retreating below 100, dollars that trade could lose steam fast. ExxonMobil’s stock will be a key barometer to watch here.

Tech reclaimed leadership on Friday, with the XLK ETF up about one and a half percent, fueled by strong earnings from the so-called Mag 7 tech giants earlier in the week. Sentiment isn’t overheated yet, sitting at a neutral 42, so there’s room for more upside if upcoming earnings from companies like Palantir and AMD impress. Materials and industrials struggled.

Materials were hit by higher input costs and seasonality, posting their worst week since May tends to be a weak period historically. Freeport-McMoRan is the stock to watch for clues on industrial metals. I.

infrastructure and defense spending offer some support. General Electric and Caterpillar are worth keeping an eye on. Financials had a solid week overall but ended Friday slightly down.

Big bank earnings are in the rearview mirror, and the sector is drifting with cautious sentiment at 44. JPMorgan and regional banks will be key to watch for any shifts tied to Fed policy. Now, let’s zoom in on some notable stocks and themes.

GameStop made headlines Friday night, surging more than six percent after a Wall Street Journal report that the company is planning a bid for eBay. This is a bold move — GameStop is valued at about 11 billion dollars, while eBay sits around 45 billion dollars. GameStop has nearly 9 billion dollars in cash, double what it had a year ago, but financing such a large acquisition would require raising significant additional capital.

The company’s CEO has hinted at going directly to eBay shareholders if management resists. While this is a big story for GameStop and its community, it’s unlikely to move the broader market just yet. In software, the so-called “Anthropic fear trade” appears to be unwinding.

I. competition, with Oracle leading the declines earlier this year. But Friday saw a strong rebound — Oracle jumped over six percent, Salesforce gained four percent, Palantir rose nearly four percent, and the software ETF IGV popped three percent.

Despite this bounce, Oracle remains down about twenty percent year-to-date. I. space after months of anxiety.

I. chips, announced plans for a massive IPO targeting a 40 billion dollars valuation and raising up to 4 billion dollars. Demand is already strong, with banks reporting over 10 billion dollars in indications of interest.

I. models on a single large chip. The company’s revenue is heavily tied to Abu Dhabi’s G42, but that dependency is expected to decline next year.

I. hardware landscape. Earnings highlights include SanDisk, which blew past estimates and announced five multi-year supply contracts with hyperscale cloud providers.

This is a game-changer — these contracts effectively turn a traditionally cyclical memory chip business into a subscription-like model with guaranteed revenue. SanDisk’s stock jumped over eight percent on the news, with earnings per share nearly sixty percent above expectations and revenue beating estimates by more than a billion dollars. The company also guided for gross margins around eighty percent, signaling strong profitability ahead.

On the smaller side, a few names made big moves on Stocktwits but with limited broader impact. Cue Biopharma surged 106 percent after a private placement and new CEO announcement. Urban One jumped thirty nine percent on a radio station acquisition.

I. rallied twenty percent following strong sector earnings from Twilio. Zscaler and Datadog also gained around six to seven percent ahead of upcoming earnings.

Meanwhile, Summit Therapeutics fell twenty five percent after disappointing trial results. Looking ahead to next week, the market’s focus will be on three major economic reports in five days: the JOLTS job openings on Tuesday, ISM Services on Wednesday, and the May jobs report on Friday. These data points will reprice sectors across the board.

A soft jobs number could extend the bid for defensive stocks, while a strong report might fuel a second leg for energy and risk assets. That’s your Daily Rip market recap. April closed strong, but May promises volatility as inflation, Fed policy, and economic data collide.

Keep an eye on energy and tech leadership, watch for shifts in software sentiment, and don’t miss the big economic prints next week. Thanks for tuning in. For LazyListen, I’m Kevin Travers — catch you tomorrow.