There was a lot of scuttlebutt about a final deal to end the conflict in Iran that made the rounds all session long, and eventually shifted markets. I suspect the Memorial Day holiday signals that midterm debates and campaigning are right around the corner. Iran knows this, but the Trump administration is not going to make a weak deal.

S&P

Yesterday, the market eked out a gain, as investors abandoned all the defensive sectors, except Utilities (XLU), which was the best-performing sector.

More than 57% of component names were higher at the close, including 71% in Utilities, and 57% in Technology (XLK).

Leaderboard

The winners keep winning: Sandisk (SNDK), Lumentum Holdings (LITE), Corning Inc (GLW), Western Digital Corp (WDC), and Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (STX). However, there was bottom-fishing in Arista Networks (ANET), and luxury retailers Ralph Lauren (RL) and Williams-Sonoman (WSM) enjoyed strong moves.

After The Close

Workday (WDAY) posted quarterly financial results, sparking a 12% move higher. Management addressed the artificial intelligence (AI) question and highlighted continued strength in its subscription model.

We played the stock on ‘Swing’ last September, closing it out at $247, so it looks very attractive at current levels if we can believe the AI threat is over – I simply do not know.

Today’s Session

Kevin Warsh gets sworn in today as the next Fed chair. He starts the job with the street expecting rate hikes.

By the way, he is the lone dove.

Waiting for the latest on sentiment, which has been an incredible contrarian indicator. We will be having more on this on the afternoon note. As a reminder, the bond market will close early at 2pm ET.