Global equities rose in May, boosted by artificial intelligence (AI) earnings momentum and hopes for an extension of the US-Iran ceasefire. Oil prices fell sharply, though consumer inflation data continued to reflect the earlier rise in energy prices, with overall price levels still elevated.

• Equities built on the prior month’s rally, driven largely by the outperformance of large-cap technology firms, which outpaced other sectors by double digits. This trend was reinforced by US Q1 earnings results, where headline growth of 28.6% masked heavy concentration in a handful of mega-cap technology and communications services names.
• An improving initial public offering (IPO) backdrop added to the constructive equity market tone. SpaceX filed its S-1 in late May ahead of an expected June listing, which is part of a broader 2026 pipeline that includes OpenAI and Anthropic and represents the most AI-concentrated new issuance cycle on record.
• Headline inflation rose sharply across major advanced economies in April, driven primarily by energy price pass-through. US CPI reached 3.8% and Eurozone HICP hit 3.0%. Underlying pressures also firmed, with US core PCE edging up to 3.3% year-over-year, reinforcing the persistence of underlying price pressures and pushing futures markets to price in a higher probability of policy tightening over the next 12 months.