Evening Market Recap - Wednesday, 22-Apr

US equities ended higher in Thursday trading. Earnings were seemingly the big tailwind today as Q1 metrics continue to look very strong. The Mag 7 names were in focus, and while takeaways were mixed, the results were supportive of the most important theme for the market, namely insatiable compute demand and massive capital expenditures.

Markets traded mostly lower with crude oil surging 7% as concerns mounted over a prolonged U.S.-Iran conflict, with Trump rejecting Tehran's latest offer and reports of imminent U.S. strikes pressuring the complacency narrative around physical oil disruption. The April FOMC meeting was a non-event with rates held steady, though signs of internal Fed division emerged as three members objected to the easing bias and Powell signaled a high bar for looking past the oil shock, all while investors awaited the first wave of Mag 7 earnings.

US equities finished lower in Tuesday trading, ending off worst levels. Big tech was mostly lower. Market shifted to the defensive today amid questions about AI spend sustainability following report OpenAI missed internal targets for weekly users and revenue. April Conference Board consumer confidence beat.

US equities finished mostly higher in Monday trading, ending near best levels. It was a relatively quiet session with limited upside ahead of a major week of corporate earnings. Nothing on today's economic calendar other than the Dallas Fed manufacturing report for April.

Major US equity indices were mostly higher this week. US-Iran headlines were noisy, but overall conformed to the market's base case of a continued ceasefire and likely bumpy progress toward some type of agreement. It was a fairly light week of economic updates, with March retail sales the big report.

US equities were lower in Thursday trading. Software was down after an eight-day streak higher, though semis were higher for the 17th consecutive session. Weakness comes amid more headline noise around the war, but the market continues to mostly ignore headline chop.

A ceasefire extension provided the key tailwind, allowing equities to grind higher and look past a 3.7% WTI crude rally alongside extended energy supply constraints. Treasuries were modestly firmer with yields down 1-2 bp following a well-received 20-year auction, while a resurgent AI trade and continued strength in Q1 earnings reinforced the risk-on tone.

US equities were lower in Tuesday trading as stocks ended near worst levels. Big tech mostly lower, though semis, software fared better. Big pickup in earnings today with elevated beats, muted guidance and mixed price action.

US equities were mostly lower in Monday trading, though stocks ended off worst levels. The market traded with a more defensive tone coming off a big three-week rally. The macro highlight of the week comes tomorrow at 10:00ET with Fed chair nominee Kevin Warsh's confirmation hearing.

US equities were higher this week, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq up ~3%+ for the third-straight week. Movement toward an end to the US-Iran war was a big piece of this week's gains. Data leaned positive this week, including March core PPI up just 0.1%, below 0.5% consensus.