Semis, Shorts & a Packed Earnings Week Converge

US Market Highlights

Semiconductors are the dominant story. Intel leads the S&P 500 with an RSI of 86 and a 157% year-to-date gain. ON Semiconductor is close behind, up 83% YTD. SanDisk has surged an extraordinary 362% in 2026 — yet bears are fading the rally hard, with the stock carrying the highest negative options bet count in the index over the past week. Options sentiment on NVIDIA and Micron is similarly cautious despite sharp gains.

Wall Street logged its best month since 2020. Investors bet that blockbuster AI spending would outweigh broader macro risks. That optimism is now being tested as a massive earnings wave arrives.

Earnings Week Ahead

Over 1,800 companies report this week. The biggest confirmed US name is drug distributor Cencora — market cap near $60B — reporting Wednesday morning. Auto supplier Flex ($33B) and lithium major Albemarle ($23B) also report mid-week.

Short Sellers in Focus

Short interest pressure is building in specific names. Wolfspeed hit 50.1% of free float — up 4.2 points in a week — with available borrow at just 2.1%. Figma sits at 24.9% SI with only 4.7% availability. Both setups carry classic squeeze potential.

Insiders Sell, Analysts Lift Targets

Corporate selling has picked up. Mueller Industries CEO Gregory Christopher sold $14.2M in shares. Kaiser Aluminum CEO Keith Harvey exited $8.2M worth of stock. On the analyst side, industrials received broad target upgrades. AMETEK and Hubbell both saw consensus targets rise Friday.

Europe Watch

Japan's yen is in focus after authorities threatened intervention during the golden week holiday period. The UAE's exit from OPEC has opened a fresh fracture in the cartel. Both developments add to global macro uncertainty heading into the new week.