Solid Earnings Power Record Rally On Wall Street Ahead of Inflation Report

Barry Adams
12 May, 2026
New York City

Benchmark indexes in New York hovered near record highs on Tuesday as AI optimism and solid earnings dominated market sentiment. 

The S&P 500 index decreased 0.4%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 0.7% amid lingering tensions in the Middle East. 

The broader index gained 0.2%, and the tech-focused index edged up 0.1% in the previous session, and they closed at new record highs. 

AI- and semiconductor-linked stocks extended gains to the seventh week in a row amid recovering sentiment for artificial intelligence infrastructure investing following solid earnings. 

Oil prices advanced for the second consecutive day this week after the U.S. and Iran failed to strike a peace deal, prolonging the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. 

The West Texas Intermediate crude oil price increased 3% to $101.03 a barrel, and the international Brent crude oil price advanced 2.7% to $107.04 a barrel.

Higher oil prices are causing significant disruptions to the economies of Japan, India, South Korea, and other smaller nations in Asia. Moreover, supply disruptions in the Persian Gulf are forcing Gulf nations to sell their U.S. Treasury notes holdings and seek help from the U.S. Federal Reserve. 

Consumer price inflation is expected to accelerate to as high as 3.7% in April from 3.3% in March, the highest since September 2023. 

Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, is expected to advance to 2.7% from 2.6% in the previous month. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is scheduled to release its report at 8:30 a.m. ET. 

 

U.S. Movers 

GameStop Corp. declined 4% to $22.15 after eBay Inc. rejected the company's $56 billion merger proposal, citing financing doubts. 

eBay Inc. decreased 1% to $107.0, following the news.

Gitlab Inc. declined 10.3% to $22.92 after the company announced its restructuring plan and reaffirmed its first quarter and full-year 2027 revenue estimates. 

The software company plans to reduce its country footprint by 30%, from 60, and accelerate its investment in agentic AI and organize into smaller and more focused product development teams to accelerate the release of new products. 

Chief Executive Officer William Staples reiterated quarterly revenue to range between $253 million and $255 million, confirming the original estimate released on March 3. 

Hims & Hers Health declined 14.5% to $24.84 after the telehealth service provider reported its quarterly results. 

Revenue in the first quarter increased 4% to $608.1 million from $586.0 million, net income swung to a loss of $92.1 million from an income of $49.5 million, and diluted earnings per share swung to a loss of 40 cents from a profit of 20 cents a year ago. 

For the second quarter, the company estimated revenue between $680 million and $700 million and adjusted operating income between $35 million and $55 million. 

For the full year, the company guided revenue between $2.8 billion and $3.0 billion and adjusted operating income between $275 million and $300 million.