Iran War, 4.2% CPI, and a SpaceX IPO Walk Into a Bar — Markets Are Not Laughing
Social sentiment exploded this week as war premiums, sticky inflation, and the SpaceX IPO circus collided in the same five-day window
Ticker Ratings
| Ticker | Rating | Entry Price | Current | $ Gain | % Gain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMCI Super Micro Computer, Inc. | sell | $28.73 | — | — | — |
| CBRL CRACKER BARREL OLD COUNTRY STORE, INC | hold | $44.97 | — | — | — |
| INTC INTEL CORP | buy | $105.07 | — | — | — |
| AAPL Apple Inc. | sell | $290.83 | — | — | — |
| ORCL ORACLE CORP | hold | $180.88 | — | — | — |
| SJM J M SMUCKER Co | buy | $117.00 | — | — | — |
| CAVA CAVA GROUP, INC. | buy | $81.25 | — | — | — |
| NUVL Nuvalent, Inc. | buy | $123.80 | — | — | — |
| BA BOEING CO | buy | $208.15 | — | — | — |
| LLY ELI LILLY & Co | buy | $1134.70 | — | — | — |
| ETR ENTERGY CORP /DE/ | buy | $110.46 | — | — | — |
| JPM JPMORGAN CHASE & CO | hold | $309.10 | — | — | — |
| BAC BANK OF AMERICA CORP /DE/ | hold | $54.45 | — | — | — |
| COIN Coinbase Global, Inc. | hold | $152.89 | — | — | — |
Let's set the scene: May CPI came in at 4.2% year-over-year — the highest reading in three years — with gasoline up 40.5% and airline fares up 26.7%, while your paycheck grew a comparatively pathetic 3.4%. Meanwhile, a U.S. Apache helicopter got downed over the Strait of Hormuz, WTI crude surged toward $91/barrel, and the Dow dropped 953 points in its worst single session since last October. Totally fine. Everything's fine.
The week's biggest stock stories were brutal and beautiful in equal measure. $SMCI cratered 28% — its worst day since March — after announcing a $7 billion equity offering to fund AI server buildout, which the market read as 'we need cash, and a lot of it.' $CBRL had the opposite energy, ripping 23% (briefly 35% intraday) on raised revenue guidance, proving that when America is stressed about war and inflation, apparently it wants chicken and dumplings. Can't blame them. Meanwhile, $INTC surged over 11% — now up roughly 200% year-to-date — after reports that Google is ordering 3 million+ specialized AI chips from Intel for 2028.
The elephant in the room is $SPCE... wait, wrong space company — SpaceX's NASDAQ IPO represents ~$75 billion in new market cap hitting indices, and Tom Lee on YouTube argues the chip selloff is literally just institutions liquidating winners to fund their SpaceX allocation. $AAPL didn't help sentiment either, dropping 5% post-WWDC after unveiling a Siri AI that's still in beta with no hard release date — Wall Street wanted an iPhone supercycle catalyst and got a feature demo. The Fed trap is now fully sprung: rate hike odds for December surged past 50%, and with the Strait of Hormuz partially choked, some analysts are whispering $160 oil. Buckle up — this summer is going to be deeply unpleasant and somehow still interesting.