Last week was a mix of new highs followed by closing lows.
The Dow crossed 50,000 for the first time since February. The S&P 500 pushed above 7,500 for the first time in its history. The Nasdaq touched a new all-time intraday high of 26,707. By Friday's close, those gains had largely reversed — the S&P shed 1.22%, the Nasdaq slid 1.53%, and all indices finished essentially flat for the week.
Moves like this are to be expected when markets get too extended. After six consecutive weeks of moving higher, the momentum was starting to lose some steam. The overall trend and structure are still positive, but a pullback was warranted.
For the S&P 500, the key level to watch is 7,200 as support if the market continues to pull back. While the Nasdaq's key floor to watch in the short term is 27,596.
On the fundamental side, inflation data was the bigger story. Producer prices came in at +1.4% for the month, nearly three times the consensus estimate and the largest monthly gain since March 2022. Annual PPI is running at +6.0%.
The culprit, in large part, is $100-plus oil. Energy is the circulatory system of the global economy — when it gets expensive, the infection spreads.
These are not transitory footnotes. They are structural warnings worth paying attention to.
— Ramie Khalil, Excerpt from the Fortress Financial Market Update, May 18, 2026