Good morning,

Last week, Iran optimism (or headline fatigue) helped major US indices continue to move higher as oil prices and yields backed off. The S&P 500 was up 1.4% extending its weekly winning streak to 9 consecutive weeks, which has only happened 10X since the inception of the index in 1957. The breadth beneath the surface was mixed with tech continuing to drive the gains. Last week software, which had been left for dead a couple of months ago, was the big outperformer with the IGV up 8% for the week and >20% in May after a solid round of earnings. That didn’t come at the expense of semis/memory with the ICE Semin Index up similar amounts over those time frames but also up massively YTD. For the week energy, consumer staples and yield oriented sectors led to the downside.

The weekend came and went with no resolution on the Iran front. President Trump has reportedly requested some changes to the MOU. The two sides have exchanged some fire over the weekend which is causing a bounce in oil prices and yields albeit modest in the context of last week’s move. US futures are mixed with S&P and Dow futures both modestly higher, with continued tech strength while R2K futures are pointing to a modestly lower open.