{"id":61944,"date":"2026-05-14T14:07:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T18:07:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/tech-and-retail-sectors-lead-broad-market-gains-as-investors-await-applied-materials-results\/61944\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T14:07:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T18:07:20","slug":"tech-and-retail-sectors-lead-broad-market-gains-as-investors-await-applied-materials-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/tech-and-retail-sectors-lead-broad-market-gains-as-investors-await-applied-materials-results\/61944\/","title":{"rendered":"Tech and Retail Sectors Lead Broad Market Gains as Investors Await Applied Materials Results"},"content":{"rendered":"

The U.S. stock market is exhibiting broad-based strength during Thursday afternoon trading on May 14, 2026. Investors are showing renewed confidence as major indexes trend higher, supported by a surge in technology and retail shares. Market volatility, as measured by the iPath Series B S&P 500<\/a> VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX<\/a>), has retreated significantly, falling 2.19%, suggesting a "risk-on" sentiment is permeating the floor as the trading day progresses toward the final hour.<\/p>\n

Major Index Performance<\/h2>\n

As of the mid-afternoon session, all major market benchmarks are firmly in positive territory. The State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY<\/a>) is leading the charge among the broad-market indicators with a gain of 0.67%. Not far behind, the tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ<\/a>) has climbed 0.64%, bolstered by a recovery in semiconductor and software names.<\/p>\n

The blue-chip Dow Jones<\/a> Industrial Average, represented by the State Street SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA<\/a>), is currently the top performer among the big three, up 0.68%. Meanwhile, small-cap stocks are also participating in the rally, with the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM<\/a>) rising 0.61%. This synchronized movement across different market capitalizations indicates a healthy breadth in today's buying activity.<\/p>\n

Sector Highlights and Afternoon Trends<\/h2>\n

The technology sector is the clear standout today. The State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK<\/a>) has jumped 1.29%, outperforming the broader market. This strength is mirrored in the semiconductor space, where the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH<\/a>) is up 0.83%.<\/p>\n

Retail is another area of significant strength, with the State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT<\/a>) climbing 1.08%. This suggests that consumer sentiment may be holding up better than previously feared. Conversely, the materials and mining sectors are struggling. The State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLB<\/a>) has slipped 0.51%, and the VanEck Gold<\/a> Miners ETF (GDX<\/a>) is down 1.94%, likely pressured by a 0.38% dip in the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD<\/a>) and a sharp 3.63% decline in the iShares Silver<\/a> Trust (SLV<\/a>).<\/p>\n

In the digital asset space, crypto-linked funds are seeing massive inflows. The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT<\/a>) is up 2.46%, while the iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA<\/a>) has gained 2.32%.<\/p>\n

Corporate News and Individual Movers<\/h2>\n

Nvidia Corp (NVDA<\/a>) continues to be the primary driver of market volume and sentiment. The AI giant is up 1.9% in afternoon trading, trading at approximately $234.03. Investors are positioning themselves ahead of the company's highly anticipated earnings report scheduled for next week. However, not all chipmakers are following suit; Micron Technology, Inc. (MU<\/a>) has edged lower by 1.0%.<\/p>\n

In more speculative moves, Snail, Inc. (SNAL<\/a>) has witnessed a staggering 176.9% price surge on massive volume, while Robo.ai Inc. (AIIO<\/a>) has climbed 69.3%. On the downside, Doximity, Inc. (DOCS<\/a>) has plummeted 22.2% following recent corporate developments.<\/p>\n

Earlier today, Brookfield Corporation (BN<\/a>) and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (HMC<\/a>) released their quarterly results. Brookfield reported Q1 2026 earnings with an estimated EPS of $0.65, while Honda posted its Q4 results.<\/p>\n

Upcoming Market Events<\/h2>\n

The focus for the remainder of the afternoon will shift toward the post-market earnings releases. Applied Materials Inc (AMAT<\/a>) is the most significant name on the docket, with its report expected shortly after 4:00 PM ET. Analysts are looking for an EPS of $2.66. As a bellwether for the semiconductor equipment industry, Applied Materials' guidance will be crucial for setting the tone for Friday\u2019s session. Other notable companies reporting after the bell include Nu Holdings Ltd. (NU<\/a>) and Figma, Inc. (FIG<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Looking ahead to next week, the market is bracing for retail data from Home Depot, Inc. (HD<\/a>), Target Corporation (TGT<\/a>), and Lowe's Companies Inc. (LOW<\/a>), which will provide further clarity on the health of the American consumer. Of course, the "main event" remains the Nvidia (NVDA<\/a>) earnings call on Wednesday, May 20th, which many analysts believe will be the next major catalyst for the S&P 500.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The U.S. stock market is exhibiting broad-based strength during Thursday afternoon trading on May 14, 2026. Investors are showing renewed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50312,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"rank_math_schema_Article":[],"rank_math_focus_keyword":[],"rank_math_description":[],"financial_data_references":[],"stock_symbols_mentioned":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[94,6824],"tags":[17457,95,633,828,3710,4223,4345,4380,4555],"class_list":["post-61944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-market-update","category-featured","tag-retail-sector","tag-nasdaq","tag-nvda","tag-amat","tag-federal-reserve","tag-inflation","tag-tech-stocks","tag-stock-market","tag-cryptocurrency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61944"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61944\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}