The VIX, often called the “Fear Gauge”, spiked higher back on June 5th, as the S&P 500 broke its consecutive weekly winning streak.

The Nasdaq gained 4.4% and the Dow rose 3.0% as optimism around a potential de-escalation in the U.S.-Iran conflict lifted sentiment… at least temporarily.

The winning streak continued to close out the month of May. All six indices closed higher, extending the rally for the holiday-shortened week.

As FactSet pointed out last week, 94% of S&P 500 companies have reported their earnings result with 84% of those companies beating their expectations.

Inflation remained the key macro story after hotter-than-expected CPI and PPI reports reinforced concerns that price pressures remain sticky.

The S&P 500 gained 2.3%, while the Nasdaq surged 4.5% as AI-driven enthusiasm and strong earnings fueled buying across the tech sector.