US Markets Overnight: Powell? What Powell? The Chip Party Rolled On

US Markets Overnight: Powell? What Powell? The Chip Party Rolled On

Wednesday night’s US session on May 13 felt a bit like watching markets decide inflation is somebody else’s problem. In US markets overnight, producer prices came in hotter than expected, Treasury yields stayed elevated, oil is still sniffing around uncomfortable territory thanks to Middle East tensions — and yet the Nasdaq went straight back to doing Nasdaq things. AI optimism trumped macro anxiety again, because apparently if Nvidia goes up hard enough, the laws of economics become more of a gentle suggestion than a rule.

There was also a geopolitical subplot simmering underneath the tape. Donald Trump’s China visit, complete with a travelling circus of tech CEOs including Jensen Huang and Elon Musk, had investors betting that maybe — just maybe — Washington and Beijing won’t completely torch the semiconductor supply chain after all. That was enough to send the chip complex back into beast mode after Tuesday’s wobble. (Reuters)

The Numbers That Matter (And a Few That Don’t)

The S&P 500 climbed 0.6% to another record close at 7,444. Tech once again did the heavy lifting while large chunks of the broader market quietly stayed home. Under the hood, it wasn’t exactly a roaring everything rally. (AP News)

The Nasdaq ripped 1.2% higher to 26,402, because semiconductors remain the closest thing markets currently have to a religion. If AI capex is the new gold rush, Nvidia is selling both the picks and the shovels. (AP News)

The Dow slipped 0.1%, which increasingly feels like the financial equivalent of your uncle muttering about “real businesses” while the kids throw money at AI servers. (AP News) The Russell 2000 barely moved, up less than 0.1%. Small caps continue to look like they’re waiting for somebody to formally announce whether the economy is booming or quietly rolling over. (AP News)

Bitcoin drifted lower around the US$80,000 mark after another volatile week tied to geopolitical nerves and shifting rate expectations. Crypto still behaves like leveraged tech with extra existential dread attached. (Barron’s)

WTI crude remained elevated after the recent Iran-related supply disruptions pushed oil above US$100 earlier in the week. Energy traders are currently one bad headline away from caffeine poisoning. (Reuters)

The US 10-year Treasury yield hovered around 4.5%, which historically would be enough to spook growth stocks. Instead, markets seem convinced AI earnings growth can outrun higher rates indefinitely. That’s either visionary or famous-last-words material. (Barron’s)

Nvidia Again? Yes, Nvidia Again.

Nvidia led the Mag 7 charge yet again, climbing more than 2% and briefly hitting fresh all-time highs as analysts tripped over themselves upgrading price targets ahead of next week’s earnings. Bank of America now reckons AI infrastructure spending could hit US$1.7 trillion by 2030. At this point, Nvidia is no longer being valued like a chip company. It’s being valued like the electricity grid. (Business Insider)

Tesla also caught a bid, helped by the Trump-Xi summit optics and ongoing optimism around its AI and robotics ambitions. The stock continues to trade less on quarterly numbers and more on whether investors wake up feeling spiritually aligned with Elon Musk that morning. (Reuters)

Alphabet pushed higher to fresh highs as investors continue treating Google’s AI monetisation story as one of the safer bets in megacap tech. Search may be changing, but Google still owns the front door to the internet for most humans.

Apple moved up modestly as Tim Cook joined the China delegation. Markets are increasingly viewing any thaw in US-China tensions as bullish for Apple simply because assembling iPhones without China would currently involve approximately 400 nervous breakdowns.

Microsoft edged higher too, although there was a slightly awkward undertone after reports LinkedIn would cut around 5% of staff. Investors mostly shrugged. In 2026, layoffs are treated less like distress signals and more like margin enhancement strategies. (The Motley Fool)

Amazon and Meta both participated in the rally without dominating it. Meta continues benefiting from AI advertising optimism, while Amazon remains tied to cloud and enterprise AI demand. Neither stock needed to do much when Nvidia was once again dragging the entire index uphill.

Silicon Dreams and Copper Nightmares

The broader semiconductor trade absolutely lit up again. Micron jumped strongly, AMD stayed firm, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index bounced hard after Tuesday’s selloff. Investors basically decided one ugly inflation print wasn’t enough to derail the AI spending cycle. (The Motley Fool)

Broadcom remained well bid as hyperscaler AI demand continues feeding the custom-chip narrative, while Marvell and Qualcomm also stabilised after recent volatility. Even Intel managed to stop embarrassing itself for a session, which counts as progress these days.

Interestingly, the rally wasn’t just about Nvidia anymore. Markets are increasingly rewarding second-derivative AI winners — networking gear, memory suppliers, optical connectivity and infrastructure names. Cisco surged after earnings thanks to booming AI-related orders, proving there’s still life left in old-school enterprise tech if you slap “AI demand” on the slide deck often enough. (Investors)

One Thing Worth Watching

The next big test is whether markets can keep ignoring inflation if energy prices stay elevated. April’s producer price data was ugly enough to revive whispers of another Fed hike, especially with Kevin Warsh now formally stepping in as Fed chair. If oil keeps climbing and bond yields punch through 5%, the “AI fixes everything” trade may finally meet a worthy opponent. For now though, the bulls remain firmly in control — or at least Jensen Huang does. (Reuters)