At the start of the week, I used a few striking figures as the backbone for my morning notes: Micron and SK Hynix reaching market capitalisations of $1,000bn. Then came the sheer weight of the Korean market as a whole, followed by the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100 crossing 50,000 and 30,000 points respectively. Records as well, of course. So I think I shall end the week with numbers too, not out of sheer intellectual laziness, though there may be a little of that, but because the past twenty-four hours have served up yet another fine haul of staggering share-price moves and fabulous sums.

Take Dell, for example. The stock is indicated 37% higher after hours after the company reported results and raised its guidance. This is a business worth $206bn, which means it should climb to around $280bn when trading opens on Wall Street. Yesterday, Soitec jumped 24% after announcing its biggest loss in a decade. Anthropic, the unlisted AI group behind the now celebrated Claude, has raised funds at a valuation of $965bn, just above the latest valuation of its great rival OpenAI. The only blot on the copybook, so to speak, is that SpaceX has reportedly had to trim its valuation target for the IPO planned for next month: the new target is said to be closer to $1,800bn than the hoped-for $2,000bn. Given that people were still talking about $1,000bn only a few months ago, that adjustment can probably be regarded as marginal.

The common thread running through Dell, Soitec, Anthropic and SpaceX is their close connection with AI. More broadly, they are tied to a certain faith in a future that is uncertain, but potentially very profitable. Yet exuberance is hardly confined to that corner of the market. In the United States yesterday, discount retailer Dollar Tree and electronics chain Best Buy each surged by more than 15% after their results. In short, there is action everywhere.

Taking a step back, May looks set to be a good month for equities. Europe looks rather drab beside the flashier moves seen elsewhere. The Stoxx Europe 600 was up 2.2% in May on the morning of the month’s final session, and up 5.5% in 2026. That is half the S&P 500’s 4.9% gain in May and 10.5% rise in 2026. The S&P 500, in turn, is well behind Japan, up 9.4% in May and 28.4% in 2026. But everyone has been flattened by South Korea, and no, I am not obsessing, with a 24% gain in May and 94% in 2026.

Other asset classes tell a more mixed story. Oil is down 17% in May, thanks to hopes of easing tensions in the Middle East. That is good news for the economy, though crude remains up 50% in 2026. Gold is down 2.5% over the month and is now up only 4.4% for the year. The barbarous relic is coming off two strong years. It is less in demand for now, with a third consecutive monthly decline. Bitcoin is down 4% in May and 16% in 2026. The cryptocurrency has given back part of its April rebound over the past fortnight. US bonds, meanwhile, are on course for a third straight monthly fall as investors fret about higher rates in the United States.

The key question for this final May session is whether the sense of easing tension in the Middle East can last. The latest reports point to a provisional agreement to extend the ceasefire by 60 days and open fresh negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear programme. US Vice-President JD Vance said the United States and Iran are "very close" to a deal. The market is already anticipating good news, but it will take tangible signs of faster traffic through the Strait of Hormuz before the barriers really come down. On the macroeconomic front, the first May inflation estimates from Germany, France and Italy and will offer clues as to how awkward the ECB’s task will be ahead of its June meeting.

In Asia-Pacific, the month is ending on a strong note. Japan (+2.7%), South Korea (+3%) and Taiwan (+2.9%) remain excellent gauges of risk appetite. Australia and Hong Kong are up 1%. India is once again going nowhere (+0.1%), hampered by an economy that is not sufficiently geared towards technology. Europe, which did little to impress yesterday, is expected to open slightly higher.

Today's economic highlights:

Today's agenda includes: consumer confidence and housing starts in Japan; housing prices in the United Kingdom; inflation in France, Spain, Italy, and Germany; KOF leading indicators in Switzerland; unemployment in Germany and Italy; unemployment benefit claims in France; in the United States, wholesale inventories, retail inventories excluding autos, goods trade balance, Fed Bowman's speech, and Chicago PMI; in Canada, GDP growth rate and monthly GDP. See the full calendar here.

  • GBP / USD: US$1.34
  • Gold: US$4,510.96
  • Crude Oil (BRENT): US$91.93
  • United States 10 years: 4.44%
  • BITCOIN: US$73,581.5

In corporate news:

  • AstraZeneca obtains US FDA approval for Imfinzi-based bladder cancer combination therapy. Receives FDA approval for durvalumab in combination with bacillus Calmette-Guérin.
  • Unilever to invest $270 million in a new innovation center in New Haven.
  • Standard Chartered announces issuance of $1 billion fixed rate resetting perpetual subordinated contingent convertible securities.
  • Asos completes the sale of its UK fulfilment center to Marks & Spencer for GBP67.5 million.
  • Nikon’s new CEO is pursuing an aggressive pricing strategy against ASML to revitalise its photolithography division.
  • SAP SE issues a €3.5 billion bond.
  • Banco de Sabadell completes its €435 million share buyback programme.
  • BBVA creates a division dedicated to AI-driven transformation, headed by Antonio Bravo.
  • Unilever invests $270 million in a new innovation centre in New Haven.
  • Groupe Bruxelles Lambert acquires a 45% co-control stake in Rayner for €500 million via a transaction with CVC.
  • Indra Sistemas is to deliver a helicopter simulator to the Polish air rescue service.
  • Dell raises its forecasts and targets $60 billion in AI server sales. The share price soars 39% in after-hours trading.
  • The Gap plummets 14.5% in after-hours trading following its quarterly results.
  • Okta gains 8% in after-hours trading following its quarterly results.
  • Microsoft is set to launch a new coding model next week.
  • Pfizer and the Chinese company Innovent Biologics have signed a global agreement worth up to $10.5 billion to develop cancer drugs.
  • Amazon is scrapping its internal AI ranking to prevent employees from focusing on usage scores, according to the FT.
  • Tesla remains well behind Waymo in the roll-out of robotaxis in Texas.
  • Autodesk is acquiring Maintainx for $3.6 billion.
  • Intelligent Monitoring Group is finalising the acquisition of a New Zealand company.
  • Howmet Aerospace files for registration of debt securities.
  • Pateo Connect Technology is considering a collaboration with Nvidia in AI and autonomous driving.
  • Kinder Morgan enters into an amended and restated revolving credit facility agreement dated 21 May 2026.
  • Anthropic raises $65 billion in Series H funding, bringing its post-money valuation to $965 billion.
  • Toyota is suspending development of the next electric Lexus and refocusing on SUVs in the face of slowing global demand.
  • Hitachi is deploying AI capable of automatically repairing malfunctions in factories.

See more news from UK listed companies here

Analyst Recommendations:

  • B&M European Value Retail Plc: Deutsche Bank downgrades to sell from hold and reduces the target price from GBX 175 to GBX 155.
  • Dunelm Group Plc: Deutsche Bank downgrades to hold from buy and reduces the target price from GBX 1200 to GBX 850.
  • Currys Plc: Deutsche Bank downgrades to hold from buy and reduces the target price from GBX 155 to GBX 150.
  • J Sainsbury Plc: Deutsche Bank maintains its buy recommendation and reduces the target price from GBX 365 to GBX 360.
  • Wickes Group Plc: Deutsche Bank downgrades to sell from hold and reduces the target price from GBX 235 to GBX 165.
  • Vodafone Group Plc: Citi maintains its neutral recommendation and reduces the target price from GBP 1.15 to GBP 1.10.
  • Softcat Plc: UBS maintains its neutral recommendation and raises the target price from GBX 1350 to GBX 1700.
  • Johnson Matthey Plc: AlphaValue/Baader Europe maintains its reduce recommendation and raises the target price from GBX 2044 to GBX 2056.
  • Easyjet Plc: Goldman Sachs maintains its neutral recommendation and reduces the target price from GBX 565 to GBX 450.
  • Diploma Plc: Jefferies maintains its hold recommendation and raises the target price from GBX 5700 to GBX 7000.
  • Dassault Aviation: BNP Paribas maintains its outperform rating and raises the target price from EUR 340 to EUR 350.
  • Moncler S.p.a.: BNP Paribas maintains its outperform recommendation and raises the target price from USD 78 to USD 80.
  • Basf: Grupo Santander maintains its neutral recommendation and raises the target price from 50.50 to EUR 51.50.
  • Asm International N.v.: ING Bank maintains its buy recommendation and raises the target price from EUR 950 to EUR 1100.