PUT IN WORK (5/18/2026)

We’re back after our break with another issue! Last week might have seemed busy, but by Friday’s close, markets hardly moved from where they’d started the week. The Nasdaq (QQQ) ended the week down 0.3%, while the S&P 500 (SPY) finished up 0.2%. We got fresh inflation data, a change in leadership at the Fed, and plenty of volatility after a strong run to record highs.

Monday started off positively, with tech helping push both major indexes to record highs. Nvidia (NVDA) hit another all-time high, and chip names like Intel (INTC) and Micron (MU) stayed strong as the rest of the market did its best to follow suit.

Tuesday brought some trouble as the Nasdaq fell 0.7% and the S&P 500 slipped 0.2% after April CPI came in a little hotter than expected, which put rates back into question as some of the more volatile chip stocks cooled off. Qualcomm (QCOM) was one of them.

Wednesday brought positivity back to the market as the Nasdaq jumped 1.2% and the S&P 500 gained 0.6%, with both closing at new record highs once again. Alphabet (GOOGL) led big tech higher, and Nvidia and Tesla (TSLA) rose as they joined President Trump at the Beijing summit with Xi Jinping. Additionally, Kevin Warsh was confirmed as the next Fed Chair.

Thursday kept the momentum going. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 were both up about 0.8%–0.9%. Nvidia popped another 4% to yet another high. Other than that, concerns regarding news of the previous days seemed to fade into the background.

Friday saw those concerns bubble to the surface once again. Stocks fell sharply as the Trump and Xi summit ended without many major announcements, and traders took profits in tech. The Nasdaq dropped 1.5%, and the S&P 500 fell 1.2%, with Arm (ARM), Micron, and Intel among the bigger losers. All in all, it was a flat week with a lot of movement resulting in record highs followed by a sharp pullback.

(Nasdaq ETF (QQQ) price from May 2025 - 2026 — each candle is 1 week. Chart provided by tradingview.com.)

PORTFOLIO UPDATE

Our portfolio fell in line with the market last week, but over the last few weeks, some of our stocks have seen tremendous gains. These stocks include Rocket Lab (RKLB) and Bandwidth (BAND), which—in the context of our portfolio—have seen gains of 1,000% and 140% respectively. We plan to hold all currently owned stocks for the foreseeable future. As always, thanks for reading, and happy investing.