Market Recap: Wednesday, May 13 — S&P 500 and Nasdaq Hit Records as Tech Shrugs Off Hot Inflation

Market Overview

Markets sent mixed signals Wednesday as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq notched record highs even after a hotter-than-expected inflation report. Strength in semiconductors and large-cap tech powered the gains, while the Dow inched lower as more defensive sectors lagged.

Index Performance

Index	Close	Change
S&P 500 (SPY)	$742.30	+0.56%
NASDAQ (QQQ)	$714.57	+1.04%
Dow Jones (DIA)	$497.13	-0.15%

The Nasdaq's bigger gain reflected leadership from chipmakers and AI-linked names. The Dow's small dip showed industrials and consumer staples taking a breather as investors rotated toward growth.

What Drove the Market Today

The big economic story was the April Producer Price Index, which measures wholesale prices charged by U.S. businesses. PPI jumped 1.4% in April — far above the 0.5% economists expected — pushing the annual rate to 6.0%, the highest reading since late 2022. Services inflation rose at its fastest monthly pace in more than two years, and goods prices climbed too, with gasoline up sharply as the conflict in Iran kept oil prices elevated.

In plain terms, the prices businesses are paying are rising faster than forecast. That makes it harder for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, and futures markets now show traders pricing in roughly a 39% chance of a rate increase later this year rather than a cut.

So why did stocks rally anyway? Tech investors looked past the inflation print and focused on AI-driven growth stories. Nvidia gained ground on news that CEO Jensen Huang would join a presidential trip to Beijing — a positive signal for the chipmaker's China business — ahead of its May 20 earnings report. Strength in chip names lifted the broader Nasdaq.

Today's Top Movers

Gainers

RVI climbed 37.80% to close at $73.71
AAOX rose 37.68% to $95.29
NEBX added 32.04% to $114.53
NBIG advanced 31.45% to $25.79
NBIL picked up 31.03% to $36.78

These were smaller, lower-profile names without clear catalysts in major financial news coverage. Large single-day moves in small-cap stocks often reflect company-specific announcements or thin trading rather than market-wide stories.

Losers

HTCO fell 35.73% to $7.25
BRCB dropped 30.26% to $7.65
WIX slid 27.10% to $55.32 after the website-builder's Q1 results came in below Wall Street expectations on both revenue ($541M) and earnings ($0.68 per share), even as sales grew 14% year over year. The company also highlighted progress on a proprietary AI model and a $1.6 billion share buyback completed in early April.
LMRI declined 23.33% to $8.05
GILT lost 21.40% to $15.65. Gilat Satellite Networks beat on earnings but came in short on revenue ($110.5M vs. $114.4M expected). The company raised full-year guidance and announced a satellite contract in India, but the sales miss drove the sharp reaction.

Most Active Stocks

The day's heaviest trading happened in SOXS, a leveraged ETF designed to move opposite to semiconductor stocks. The unusually large volume suggests some traders were positioning against further chip-sector gains while others closed out earlier bets. Ford, Nvidia, Nokia, and TSLL — a leveraged Tesla product — also drew heavy interest.

What This Means for You

When markets reach new highs on the same day inflation data comes in hot, it often shows that investors are willing to look past short-term economic noise as long as they believe in a longer-term growth story — in this case, AI and semiconductors. It also highlights how different parts of the market can move in different directions on the same day, which is one reason diversification can smooth out the ride.

This recap is AI-generated from verified market data and publicly available news sources. It is not financial advice. Always do your own research or consult a qualified financial advisor.