S&P 500 Hits 7,444 — Cisco Surges 19% After Earnings Beat, But Two-Thirds of Stocks Fell Wednesday
The S&P 500 closed at a new all-time high of 7,444.25 on May 13, 2026, and Cisco jumped 19% in after-hours trading on a strong earnings beat. But here's the part Wall Street cheerleaders won't put in the headline: roughly two-thirds of S&P 500 stocks finished lower that same day. This rally is getting thinner by the session.
What Just Happened The S&P 500 closed Wednesday, May 13 at 7,444.25 — a new all-time high, up 0.58% on the day, according to CNBC. The Nasdaq added 1.2%, closing at 26,402.34 , also a record. The Dow told a different story. It dropped 67.36 points , or 0.14%, to close at 49,693.20. Not a disaster, but it's not participating in this party. Cisco Is the New Story After the closing bell, Cisco Systems exploded 19% in extended trading. The company posted third-quarter results and forward guidance that beat Wall Street expectations, according to CNBC. They also announced they're cutting nearly 4,000 jobs . The stock pops 19% on an earnings beat and 4,000 people lose their jobs in the same breath. That's the market in 2026. On the other side, Doximity got crushed — down 18% after-hours — after posting a fourth-quarter earnings miss and revenue guidance that came in short of expectations, according to CNBC. The Breadth Problem Roughly two-thirds of S&P 500 stocks closed lower on Wednesday , according to FactSet data cited by CNBC. The index hit an all-time high. Most stocks in it went down. This is a rally powered by Nvidia, Micron, and a handful of semiconductor names. Nvidia closed up more than 2% . Micron Technology gained more than 4% . The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) advanced 2% . Meanwhile, Home Depot fell. JPMorgan fell. Retail and banking got hit as inflation fears tied to higher energy prices weighed on cyclical stocks. The Inflation Problem April's Producer Price Index came in hot — up 1.4% for the month, the biggest monthly increase since March 2022, according to CNBC. That was well above what economists expected. Higher energy prices are the culprit, driven by the ongoing Iran conflict. Brent crude has pushed above $100 a barrel , according to Detroit News, as hopes for a quick resolution to the Middle East conflict fade and the Strait of Hormuz remains a chokepoint for oil and LNG. The market's response? Ignore it — at least if you're holding chips. Ross Mayfield , investment strategist at Baird, told CNBC: "The chip trade has certainly kind of taken on a life of its own where I think investors think that the demand and growth there is so structural that these other more cyclical macro forces don't really change the dynamic." AI stocks are in their own universe right now. Jensen Huang in Beijing One catalyst driving semiconductor optimism: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang accompanied President Donald Trump on his trip to Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping , according to CNBC. The symbolism was loud. Investors read Huang's presence as a signal that Nvidia may get some runway to sell AI chips in Chinese markets. Mayfield told CNBC his expectations for the meeting are still "fairly muted" — but the market didn't care. It ran with the headline. How this meeting actually plays out for chip export policy is still unknown. The optimism may be getting ahead of the facts. The Bull Case The underlying earnings numbers are strong. Of the 440 S&P 500 companies that had reported first-quarter results as of early May, 83% beat analysts' estimates , according to LSEG I/B/E/S data cited by Detroit News. The long-term average is about 67% . First-quarter S&P 500 earnings are tracking nearly 29% growth year-over-year . Peter Mallouk , CEO of Creative Planning, told CNBC: "This has been, for the most part, a tech-driven long, long, long bull market. This growth is because of expected earnings. It's not really a speculative bubble. I think the chipmakers are actually undervalued as a group." The S&P 500 has now gained 8% in 2026 . The Nasdaq is up 13% . The index just logged its sixth straight weekly gain — the longest winning streak since October 2024, per Detroit News. What Could Break This Mayfield issued a clear warning to CNBC: at some point, investors in chip stocks will "look up" and find a macro environment that has turned against them. The Iran war was supposed to end fast. It hasn't. Inflation is still running hot. The Fed — now led by Kevin Warsh , confirmed as Fed Chair according to Investopedia — is expected to hold rates steady in the 3.50%–3.75% range through the end of 2026 , per trader expectations cited by Detroit News. High rates plus a $100 oil environment plus a narrow rally held up by six or seven stocks is not a stable foundation. The Bottom Line If you own an S&P 500 index fund, your statement looks great. But most of that gain is sitting in a small cluster of semiconductor and AI infrastructure names. If Nvidia sneezes, the index catches a cold. Cisco's 19% pop will juice pre-market optimism Thursday. But watch the breadth numbers. When two-thirds of the market falls on a record-high day, that's not a sustained rally.
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