Wall Street ends higher, S&P 500, Nasdaq notch biggest monthly gains in years

Wall Street ends higher, S&P 500, Nasdaq notch biggest monthly gains in years

By Stephen Culp and Niket Nishant

Thu April 30, 2026  

I noted yesterday that there may be more of a rally today as four of the behemoth Mag7 companies turned in their Q1 after the bell. Well, we had no idea. It was an enormous rally that sent all three indexes way up with tech hitting its biggest monthly gains in six years and industrials scoring their biggest monthly advance in 1-1/2 years. Despite the poor war news, investors are ignoring that dark cloud and focusing fully on the Q1 reporting looking for desperate signs that the enormous AI spending is positioned to pay off.  

Wall Street ends mixed ahead of big tech earnings

Wall Street ends mixed ahead of big tech earnings

By Stephen Culp and Niket Nishant

Wed April 29, 2026  

I wouldn’t call Wall Street “mixed” today but rather wildly gyrating between big losses on all three indexes (the Dow down over 400, the Nasdaq over 160) and a sudden late session surge in tech that brought both indexes to break-even. Spiking crude prices as well as overall uncertainty with Iran sent everything spiraling down in the morning. Then the modestly good news came that Trump was talking to oil producers like Chevron about how to stablize gas prices while new orders for capital goods jumped 3.3%, the largest increase in nearly six years.  

Nasdaq, S&P 500 end lower on renewed AI growth worries ahead of big tech earnings

Nasdaq, S&P 500 end lower on renewed AI growth worries ahead of big tech earnings

By Stephen Culp and Niket Nishant

Tue April 28, 2026  

After only two days, concerns about the potential profitability of AI is back on the front page again with signs of weakening coming from OpenAI and its chief user Oracle. Whereas before the Dow was taking a big hit while tech soared, today tech took a major dump while the Dow, while not exactly soaring, did spend most of the day in the black gaining well over 200 at its height and then closing nearly flat. It appears that AI has taken bets off the table awaiting the reports from the major AI contributors later this week.  

S&P 500, Nasdaq, close slightly higher in cautious start to a heavy earnings week

S&P 500, Nasdaq, close slightly higher in cautious start to a heavy earnings week

By Stephen Culp and Niket Nishant

Mon April 27, 2026  

There isn’t a whole lot of agreement on sentiment right now with the markets going in all different directions given the plethora of news coming this week. All the indexes opened in the red posting 3-digit losses until about 1 pm. Then everything but the Dow went into the black for the two tech indexes to close marginally higher but any plus meant a new record. The S&P in fact is now at a record high equivalent to doubling its value in the last 3-1/2 years. The question is if earnings will justify all these new records. So far, so good, with 28% of S&P companies reporting and 81% beating estimates.  

S&P 500, Nasdaq close at records on tech lift, Iran peace talk hopes

S&P 500, Nasdaq close at records on tech lift, Iran peace talk hopes

By Chuck Mikolajczak and Niket Nishant

Fri April 24, 2026

Two key events that likely happened right after the open were Iran sending their foreign minister to Pakistan to try to restart peace talks and the DOJ dropping the investigation again Powell. As all the indexes opened near flat but then almost immediately started zooming up and up until 12 pm, at which time they leveled off and remained steady the rest of the day resulting in a nice 3-digit gain on the Nasdaq and putting both tech indexes at four consecutive weeks of gains, their longest streak in over a year.  

Stocks close lower on fading hopes for quick Iran deal, mixed quarterly earnings

Stocks close lower on fading hopes for quick Iran deal, mixed quarterly earnings

By Chuck Mikolajczak and Niket Nishant

Thu April 23, 2026

At 1 pm there was a drastic plunge in all the indexes, the Dow down over 600 by 2 pm as news came to an already war-weary and skeptical market that one of Iran’s key negotiators had resigned and further fell when oil prices rose on reports of renewed air attacks on Iran. But by 2 pm, as investors have been inclined to do, war news went on the back burner and the focus returned to the very strong Q1.

S&P, Nasdaq close at records on Iran ceasefire extension, earnings

S&P, Nasdaq close at records on Iran ceasefire extension, earnings

By Chuck Mikolajczak and Niket Nishant

Wed April 22, 2026

Yesterday, sentiment switched to being about the war with the expert saying, “it’s baffling to me that people think it’s going to be okay.” But with Trump’s after-hours announcement of an indefinite extension of the ceasefire, the market got its wish as all three indexes skyrocketed right out the gate and all three closing with all new record highs. So once again investors get to focus on Q1 earnings which continue to come in strong. Today’s sentiment on the war has switched to, “Everyone’s kind of sick of it … clearly the market is looking for a beneficial outcome.” 

Wall Street falls as Middle East concerns offset earnings optimism

Wall Street falls as Middle East concerns offset earnings optimism

By Chuck Mikolajczak and Niket Nishant

Tue April 21, 2026  

Wall Street optimism dominated the opening with all three indexes well into gains, the Dow up some 400 by 10 a.m. Up until now, war news has been shrugged off in favor of solid Q1 earnings but today that flipped. Despite another round of solid Q1, focus today went to the war with the markets declining after 10 a.m. and for the rest of the session to close with substantial 3-digit losses. Some of this was triggered by the news of Vance not going to Pakistan after all.  

Wall Street closes slightly down on renewed tensions between US, Iran

Wall Street closes slightly down on renewed tensions between US, Iran

By Chuck Mikolajczak and Purvi Agarwal

Mon April 20, 2026

It was pretty predictable that after the ceasefire more or less fell apart over the weekend and the Strait of Hormuz closed again after only one day, that the market would drop and the only wonder was that it didn’t drop a whole lot more. But as we’ve seen, investors are taking the war news pretty much in stride and are staying a lot more optimistic than otherwise. Indeed, all the indexes did drop quite a lot this morning, the Dow down over 200 by 11 a.m., but then, though quite choppy, all three recovered throughout the session, to close with only minor losses.  

Wall Street indexes hit record highs as oil falls with Strait of Hormuz declared open

Wall Street indexes hit record highs as oil falls with Strait of Hormuz declared open

By Sinéad Carew and Niket Nishant

Fri April 17, 2026

With Iran’s announcement that the Strait of Hormuz would now be open and Trump’s announcement that a peace deal could be reached as early as this weekend (though not yet confirmed by Iran), the markets exploded for a third consecutive day of new record highs. Oil plunged 11% which pacified investors that the concern about oil blowing up inflation was diminishing.

S&P 500, Nasdaq edge up to new records with Middle East hopes in focus

S&P 500, Nasdaq edge up to new records with Middle East hopes in focus

By Sinéad Carew and Niket Nishant

Thu April 16, 2026  

More good Q1 news combined with an Israel-Lebanon ceasefire and a new promise of renewed talks with Iran shot the indexes up for a fourth straight day and though gains were modest on the tech side, any gains meant another record breaking day and the longest Nasdaq winning streak in 17 years. But until the war is actually over, there is still plenty of uncertainty.  

S&P 500, Nasdaq push to closing records on optimism around Middle East talks, earnings

S&P 500, Nasdaq push to closing records on optimism around Middle East talks, earnings 

By Sinéad Carew and Niket Nishant

Wed April 15, 2026

More positive Q1 reports from more banks combined with continued optimism on peace talks injected more confidence in the markets for the third day with both the Nasdaq and S&P reaching new records, the Nasdaq its first since October 29^th. In fact, less than three weeks after Nasdaq signaled its correction it has already rebounded all the correction losses. The loser today was the Dow, down some 250 by 1 pm but then enjoyed its own rebound to close well above that low.  

Wall Street rallies on renewed hopes for US-Iran talks, earnings boost

Wall Street rallies on renewed hopes for US-Iran talks, earnings boost

By Sinéad Carew and Niket Nishant

Tue April 14, 2026  

With talk of the likelihood of resumed peace talks in the next couple days and the U.S. move for talks between Israel and Lebanon, the indexes all shot straight up again. Optimism that we’ve reached peak uncertainty and that a rebound is coming, as today’s expert put it, “Markets are starting to kind of walk away from some of the worst-case scenarios for these events and because valuations have improved over the last couple of weeks and months, investors are buying the dip right now.”  

Wall Street indexes gain as investors hold out hope for US-Iran resolution

Wall Street indexes gain as investors hold out hope for US-Iran resolution

By Sinéad Carew and Niket Nishant

Mon April 13, 2026  

With the Iranian business falling apart over the weekend, it would have been an easy call for the markets to slump today and become a short-sellers fiesta. But that’s what makes the markets fun because exactly the opposite happened. All three indexes opened in the red, the Dow particularly bad at a minus 400, but right around the noon hour, everything started rebounding. Part of this was the on again-off again nature of the negotiations which has left investors immune to the war news. Another part was Trump once again announcing that Iran was back at the table.  

Wall St ends mixed, notches weekly gains as investors parse Middle East negotiations

Wall St ends mixed, notches weekly gains as investors parse Middle East negotiations

By Stephen Culp and Purvi Agarwal

Fri April 10, 2026

Starting at about 10:30 a.m., it was a shot straight down on the Dow all day as investors continue to digest war news and hedge bets on the cease-fire which has already been repeatedly violated. But though industrials sank, tech did much better with the S&P in the green until about 11:30 when it suddenly sank into the red for the rest of the day. The Nasdaq did even better, gaining some 200 by 11:30 before it too began to sink but still remained on the upside all day to be the only index to close with gains. The flight from the safety of industrials into the more risky tech sectors happens whenever there is more optimism.  

Wall Street ends higher as Middle East peace talks lift sentiment

Wall Street ends higher as Middle East peace talks lift sentiment

By Stephen Culp and Avinash P

Thu April 9, 2026  

Yesterday’s disruptions to the cease-fire quite predictably caused all three indexes to open down this morning, the Dow a minus 220 by 11 a.m.  But the markets then began a recovery likely sparked by Israel seeking talks with Lebanon and continued optimism that the Iran agreements would hold, particularly the promise to temporarily reopen the Strait of Hormuz which Iran had initially promised would happen today.  

Wall Street ends sharply higher on US-Iran ceasefire

Wall Street ends sharply higher on US-Iran ceasefire

By Stephen Culp and Purvi Agarwal

Wed April 8, 2026  

Since the two-week cease-fire agreement was announced nearly 3 hours after the markets closed yesterday, it was quite predictable that the indexes would soar today. And soar they did right out the gate and stayed there all day, the Dow racing up 4-digits to its biggest one-day gain in a year, while the S&P and Nasdaq regained a lot of the ground lost since the start of the war. This jubilation continued despite the hiccups in the cease-fire agreement that occurred throughout the day.  

Wall Street closes mixed, with signs of progress as Trump's Iran deadline draws near

Wall Street closes mixed, with signs of progress as Trump's Iran deadline draws near

By Stephen Culp and Purvi Agarwal

Tue April 7, 2026  

The day started as a disaster with the Dow down over 650 points by 11 a.m. But once again investors chose to take the positive approach that there would be a peace deal and rather downplay Trump’s fiery rhetoric. There was encouragement when Pakistan said that talks were progressing steadily while urging a 2-week extension on the Iran attack deadline while also asking Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz for that 2-week period.  

Wall St ends higher as investors parse US-Iran negotiations, threats

Wall St ends higher as investors parse US-Iran negotiations, threats

By Stephen Culp and Purvi Agarwal

Mon April 6, 2026

 

Mixed messages continue to haunt the markets as investors try to balance peace talks vs Trump’s increasingly heated war rhetoric. But Wall Street continues to lean towards putting more weight on the peace talks. With that, the indexes were quite predictably bumpy again but ended on a positive note with both the Dow and Nasdaq closing with 3-digit gains. The jobs report released on Good Friday showed stellar gains, triple the forecast, but this was tempered by a sharp upward revision of February job losses with over 40,000 additional jobs gone.  

Oil prices soar, and stocks end mixed in volatile trade

Oil prices soar, and stocks end mixed in volatile trade

By Chris Prentice and Marc Jones

Thu April 2, 2026 8:18 PM  

Wall Street rallied like crazy the last two days almost entirely due to expectations that Trump would be announcing the end of the war last night. Then he did exactly the opposite, not only no end but at least a few more weeks of even more intense fighting. All the optimism faded and there was a huge crash right at open, the Dow coming down almost 700 points with the other indexes following suit. But it must have been the case come 10 a.m. that sentiment switched to business as usual as investors knew full well that it’s difficult to interpret Trump.  

Wall Street ends higher on speculation about end to Iran war

Wall Street ends higher on speculation about end to Iran war

By Noel Randewich and Purvi Agarwal

Wed April 1, 2026  

For a second straight day, optimism over an end to the war has sent stocks further up from yesterday’s huge rallies. Investors continue to choose to believe the Trump news or, as today’s expert put it, “We have Trump’s comments, which tend to change a bit. Everybody’s trying to guess as to what he really means by what he’s saying. The markets want it to be positive, they want the war to be over.” Today’s gains have lifted the S&P’s losses for the year to 4% vs yesterday’s 4.7%.