S&P 500 Index (SPX) - Daily Chart - May 1 - 31, 2022 (Source: Tradingview)

May 2

• Stocks struggled to shake off April’s ugly selloff but managed to stave off the losses by the close.
• The Dow closed higher by 84 points, the S&P gained 0.57%, and the Nasdaq rose 1.72%.
• Markets are largely nervous as the Federal Reserve gears up for the big FOMC meeting this week.
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May 3

• Stocks fluctuate between gains and losses in another choppy session but all three ended the day in the green.
• The Dow rose 67 points, the S&P ended the day higher by 0.48%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq continued its advance, now up 0.48%.
• The big expectation is for the Fed to raise rates by 50 basis points and delay the groundwork for another hefty hike in June.
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May 4

• An outstanding day on Wall Street as investors bet the Fed can slow inflation without causing a recession.
• The Dow advanced 932 points, the S&P surged ahead 2.81%, and the Nasdaq ended the day with a whopping 3.41% gain.
• While the central bank announced that it was hiking its benchmark interest rate 50-basis-points, the markets moved sharply higher when Fed Chair Powell said the central bank was not considering an even more aggressive hike in future meetings.
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May 5

• In stark contrast to yesterday’s rally, the Dow and Nasdaq experienced their worst single-day drop since 2020.
• The Dow fell 1063 points, the S&P declined 3.5%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq plunged 5%.
• Worker productivity fell 7.5% in Q1, the fastest decline since 1947. Labor costs as measured against productivity soared 11.6%, bringing the increase over the past four quarters to 7.2%, the fastest rise in about 40 years.
• And to top it off, weekly jobless claims increased to 200,000, well above analyst expectations.
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May 6

• The relief rally earlier in the week seems short-lived: the Dow continued its slide, down 98 points, while the S&P heald relatively steady only losing 0,57%; the Nasdaq fell the hardest, down 1.22%.
• Analysts are saying that unless inflation quickly reverses its course, the Fed may have no other choice than to slow growth in order to ease inflation.
• A key area to keep an eye on is the labor force participation rate, which remains weak and well below its pre-pandemic level. Economists believe that a recovery in participation could help stem the rise in wages and, by extension, inflation.
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May 9

• Wall Street struggled to find its footing after last week’s wild swings.
• The Dow is down 653 points. The S&P fell 3% while the Nasdaq plunged almost 4%.
• Consumer staples was the only sector in the green as investors are flocking to more defensive and dividend-yielding names.
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May 10

• Markets seesawed as the Dow slipped for a fourth day while the major averages struggled to bounce back from a bout of heavy selling.
• The Dow lost 85 points while the S&P and Nasdaq rose slightly, 0.25% and 1.3% respectively.
• Much of the recent market action has been driven by the Fed and speculations as to how aggressively it will act to curb rising inflation. 
• Meanwhile, investors continue to search for a bottom while keeping an eye on the pandemic lockdown in China and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

May 11

• Stocks continue their slide following another hot inflation report.
• The Dow declined -326 points as the S&P and Nasdaq dialed back yesterday's gains, losing ground by 1.65% and 3% respectively. 
• While the markets want to see energy and food and labor costs come down, the mechanism by which that can be achieved is to hike rates aggressively.
• April’s consumer price index showed an 8.3% jump, higher than the 8.1% increase expected by economists.
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May 12

• The S&P and Nasdaq fell modestly, down 0.13% and 0.18% as the Dow took the greater loss of 103 points.
• Producer prices at the wholesale level rose 11% over the past year and 0.5% in April alone, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday.
• But the biggest news today was in the crypto markets which saw over a loss of over $200 billion across the board, 
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May 13

• Today squaw a strong and long-awaited bounce to punctuate a grueling week for Wall Street with the Dow snapping back 466 points, the S&P advancing 2% and the Nasdaq delivering a robust rally up 3.7%.
• With no crucial economic data on the calendar, the market was left to technical indicators, deeply oversold levels, and potential exhaustion of aggressive selling. 
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May 16

• Stocks started lower and rallied midday, but couldn’t hold on to the gains by the end of the session.
• The Dow advanced 26 points while the S&P and Nasdaq slid 0.39% and 1.16% respectively.
• Investors are awaiting tomorrow’s retail sales and industrial production data.
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May 17

• The market rose in today’s trading, the Dow rising 431 points, the S&P ending the day 2% higher, and the Nasdaq advancing 2.62%.
• Tomorrow we’ll get data on housing starts and building permits to get a gauge where housing markets stand as mortgage rates and tighter inventory continues to weigh on homebuilders sentiment.
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May 18

• The selloff on Wall Street intensifies as the Dow sees its largest drop since 2020.
• The Dow ended the day down 1164 points; the Nasdaq fell 5%; and the broader S&P fell 4%.
• Markets commenced their heavy selling after two back-to-back quarterly reports from Target and Walmart stoked investor fears of rising inflation taking a bite out of corporate profits and consumer demand.
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May 19

• Another day of modest declines on Wall Street with the Dow falling the hardest, down 236 points, and the S&P and Nasdaq sliding 0.58% and 0.44%.
• The S&P, however, is just a few points away from bear market territory.
• Existing home sales fell to their lowest levels since the start of the pandemic,
• Meanwhile, U.S. weekly jobless claims rose to 218,000 for the week, the latest hint that economic growth may be slowing.
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May 20

• A very wild ride that ended in a spinning top with all three indices nearly unchanged. 
• The Dow barely scratched out a gain, up 8 points the S&P followed suit, up 0.01%, while the Nasdaq fell a modest 0.34%.
• While there’s no official bear market designation on Wall Street, some will count Friday’s decline at the intraday lows as confirmation of a bear market, whereas some analysts may say it’s not official until it closes 20% off its high. 
• Yet what we’re seeing is the biggest downturn of this magnitude since March 2020 which counts as the shortest bear market by historical standards.
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May 23

• Wall Street began the week with solid gains as the Dow bounces back from an 8-week losing streak.
• The Dow jumped 618 points to end the day, the S&P is up 186%, and the Nasdaq bounced back by 1.68%.
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May 24

• It was a mixed day on Wall Street as the Dow advanced a modest 48 points while the S&P fell 0.81% and the Nasdaq took a big tumble, down over 2%.
• New home sales also took a dive, down 16.6%, to levels matching those at the onset of the pandemic.
• Along with tech stocks, which have been hit during the recent plunge, the sell-off has also been driven by losses in the retail sector following weak earnings and guidance.
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May 25

• It was a positive day on Wall Street as the Dow rose 191 points, the S&P closed up 0.95%, and the Nasdaq rose 1.48%. 
• The Fed’s May minutes was released and the markets noted it for its “stay the course” attitude signaling another two 50 basis point hikes in the coming FOMC sessions.
• Economic data shows some general slowing but that’s also what the Fed is hoping to achieve as it attempts to raise rates in a manner that avoids slowing the economy too aggressively.
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May 26

• Stocks staged a rip-roaring rally with the dow rising 516 points by the end of the day, the S&P advancing nearly 2%, and the Nasdaq jumping 2.79%.
• Although the rally was broad-based (all 11 sectors participating), all sectors are vulnerable if tomorrow’s PCE numbers which happen to be one of the Fed’s preferred inflation indicators come in higher than expected.
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May 27

• Markets ended the day and the week on a positive note with the Dow rising 575 points, the S&P rallying 2.47%, and the Nasdaq advancing ver 3%.
• Key inflation measures came in lower this morning.
• Although inflation is stil rising, it’s doing so at a slower rate with core April PCE coming in at 4.9%. Bear in mind that the Fed pays close attention to these numbers which can affect how fast and how high the Fed raises interest rates.
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May 31

• US stocks fell to close out the month of May in the red.
• The S&P is once again flirting with bear market territory amid inflation and recession fears.
• In absence of any major economic data for the day, the Dow fell about 190 points, or 0.6% while the S&P 500 fell 0.5%. The Nasdaq Composite eased 0.3%, after being up 0.5% at its highs and down nearly 1.6% at its lows.
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