On Monday, April 13, the S&P 500 increased 1%, the Nasdaq composite increased 1.2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.8%.
The market shrugged off the U.S. naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz. Stocks opened lower but quickly rebounded as investors refused to price in a prolonged conflict.
Oil also gave back most of its overnight gains, settling below $100.
On the macro side, housing data was weak, with existing home sales down 3.6% to the lowest level since mid-2025, showing that high prices and uncertainty are still holding buyers back.
Company earnings for the week were mixed. Goldman Sachs had strong overall results but missed in fixed income, currency and commodities trading, pushing the stock down.
Artificial intelligence capacity constraints kept coming up, with rising GPU costs and outages highlighting how tight supply still is.
On Tuesday, April 14, the S&P 500, the Nasdaq and the Dow stayed mostly flat due to geopolitical tensions still present but not escalating, with the U.S. and Iran continuing ceasefire discussions.
Corporate headlines, including a potential merger between JetBlue and other airlines, did little to move markets, as investors stayed cautious on both geopolitical developments and macro direction.
On Wednesday, April 15, the S&P 500 increased by 0.5%, the Nasdaq increased by 0.6% and the Dow increased by 0.4%.
Markets were supported by strong bank earnings, with Bank of America and Morgan Stanley reinforcing the narrative of the resilient consumer, shifting the focus away from geopolitical risks.
Oil prices remained stable as expectations for a ceasefire improved, while renewed political tension between President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell had a limited impact on markets.
Treasury yields were only slightly higher and investors largely dismissing the noise.
On Thursday, April 16, the S&P 500 decreased 0.3%, the Nasdaq fell 0.5% and the Dow declined 0.2%.
Allbirds gave back a big part of its earlier AI-driven rally and Charles Schwab fell despite strong earnings, which showed investors are getting more selective.
Pepsi’s first-quarter results exceeded Wall Street’s expectations, suggesting inflation could still be coming, even though demand is holding up.
At the same time, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. reported strong earnings driven by AI demand, which ties back to the broader theme that semiconductor capacity is still tight and supporting the AI trade.
On Friday, April 17, the S&P 500 decreased 0.8%, the Nasdaq tumbled 1.2% and the Dow fell 0.6%. Markets sold off as oil prices dropped sharply, with Brent down around 9% after signals that the Strait of Hormuz would remain open, reversing much of the earlier war premium.
That hit energy-linked names and chemicals hard. Netflix shares fell after giving weak forward guidance.
Overall, investors were less forgiving of earnings and more focused on the outlook.
