Daily Market Report – May 12, 2026

Market Report – May 12, 2026

The international financial markets reacted today primarily to the higher than expected US inflation as well as the rising oil prices due to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The US Consumer Price Index rose by 3.8% in April compared to the previous year, up from 3.3%; expectations had been for 3.7%. On a monthly basis, the increase was 0.6%. Particularly relevant for the markets was the development of core inflation excluding energy and food: it accelerated to 2.8% from 2.6%; economists had only expected 2.7%. The monthly core rate was at 0.4%. Energy prices, rents, flight prices, and food costs rose particularly sharply. Official source: [US Bureau of Labor Statistics – CPI [Release] (https://www](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.toc.htm).bls.gov/news.release/cpi.toc.htm).

The market interpretation was clear: inflation is no longer solely driven by volatile energy prices but shows broader price pressure in the US economy. Investors are particularly critical of the renewed acceleration of core inflation. At the same time, rising oil prices further intensified inflationary pressure. The price of Brent crude oil UKOIL temporarily rose significantly above $100 per barrel. The background is increasing doubts about a quick stabilization of the situation in the Middle East. Higher energy prices increase the risk of persistently higher inflation rates and burden the margin expectations of many companies.

This led to a clear risk aversion in the stock markets. Particularly interest-sensitive technology and growth stocks came under pressure. The Nasdaq 100 NDX lost significantly more than the broader S&P 500 SPX. In Europe, the DAX DAX and the EURO STOXX 50 SX5E also declined. Market participants reduced positions primarily in strongly performing AI and semiconductor stocks. Under pressure were, among others, NVIDIA NVDA, AMD AMD, Intel INTC, and Qualcomm QCOM.

In the bond market, yields on US government bonds rose significantly. The US dollar benefited from the inflation data; the US dollar index DXY DXY increased. At the same time, precious metals came under pressure. Gold GOLD was unable to gain despite geopolitical uncertainty, as rising yields increase opportunity costs. Cryptocurrencies also reacted weaker; Bitcoin BTCUSDT fell during the day.

In the European corporate sector, numerous quarterly reports were in focus today. Particularly watched were figures from Bayer BAYN, Munich Re MUV2, Siemens Energy ENR, Thyssenkrupp TKA, and Vodafone VOD.