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Chip-fueled rally pushes Nasdaq to records as markets bet on “good enough” jobs and look past inflation risks
As of May 8, 2026, 4:00 PM ET
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For informational purposes only.
It probably feels a bit surreal right now: headlines about war, oil shocks and record‑low consumer confidence on one side, and on the other, your screen showing the Nasdaq hitting fresh all‑time highs. Today was another one of those “how is the market up?” days.
The spine of the day was a one‑two punch: a “good enough” jobs report and another blowout day for chip stocks.
The April jobs report showed 115,000 new jobs and unemployment steady at 4.3%. That’s better than economists expected, but not a blowout. Fed officials are calling the labor market “stable” and shifting their worry toward inflation instead of jobs. Bond yields barely moved and the VIX stayed low around 17, which tells you markets don’t see this report forcing the Fed to change course immediately.
Stocks loved that mix. The S&P 500 rose about 0.8%, the Nasdaq jumped about 1.7% and notched fresh records, and small caps joined in. Under the hood, though, the party was very specific: high‑risk, high‑growth names ripped; steady, defensive names sagged.
Technology was the clear driver. The tech sector ETF surged more than 3%, and big chip names went vertical: Micron, Intel and AMD all logged double‑digit gains, while Nvidia and Tesla added to an already huge six‑week run. High‑beta stocks beat low‑volatility stocks by a wide margin, and momentum strategies are near the top of their recent ranges.
At the same time, utilities, healthcare and financials were down on the day, and fewer than half of all individual stocks actually advanced. Equal‑weight indices barely budged. So this is a concentrated, chip‑led melt‑up, not a calm, broad‑based rally.
The near‑term risk picture is oddly balanced:
On the supportive side, earnings estimates for the S&P 500 have been rising, the economy looks more like “slowing but still growing” than “recession,” and volatility is low. That gives markets room to grind higher, especially in the winners’ circle around AI and semiconductors.
On the risk side, inflation and energy are the main characters now. Fed officials are openly saying inflation progress has stalled or worsened. The Fed’s own stability report puts the Iran war and the oil shock at the top of its worry list. The Strait of Hormuz remains closed, and analysts are talking about a supply‑driven inflation shock similar to 2022.
Layer on top that consumer sentiment has sunk to record lows, with high gas prices doing real damage to household mood. In plain terms: markets are pricing in strong profits and resilient growth, while everyday people are increasingly gloomy and facing higher living costs.
Over the next few days, three signals matter more than the day‑to‑day noise:
For now, the market is essentially saying: “We see the risks, but the earnings and AI story is too strong to ignore.” The important thing is to recognize that today’s strength is being carried by a very specific slice of the market, in an environment where inflation and energy shocks haven’t gone away – they’ve just been temporarily overshadowed.
