Despite — and perhaps because of — a week of waffling headlines on peace talks with Iran, two out of three major indexes broke through to new all-time highs as all three closed out their third straight week of gains.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) closed Friday up 1.2% for a gain of 4.5% on the week, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) finished Friday up 1.5% for a 6.8% return over the five-day stretch.
The Dow (^DJI), the only major index to not cross its all-time high last week, ended Friday up 1.8%, or more than 850 points, to finish the week up 3.2%.
Calendar highlights
A packed earnings line-up — but a calm economic data calendar — will greet investors in the coming week.
Retail sales data on Tuesday and readings on market sentiment from the University of Michigan on Friday will highlight the week’s economic data releases. Both measures are expected to provide investors with a read on the state of the consumer eight weeks into a war that has wracked the global economy, raised prices, and increased uncertainty.
After the University of Michigan’s market sentiment survey fell to a historic low of 47.6 in the April preliminary reading released earlier this month, the measure will be especially watched.
Earnings on Wednesday from Elon Musk’s Tesla (TSLA) and on Thursday from semiconductor giant Intel Corporation (INTC), which traded up to its highest intraday price since 2000 on Friday, headline a busy week of earnings reports.
Reports from Alaska Air Group (ALK) on Monday and United Airlines (UAL) on Tuesday will provide another read on the effects of soaring jet fuel prices, while GE Vernova’s (GEV) results on Wednesday will offer a bellwether on the state of demand for AI and power generation infrastructure.
Even as a temporary ceasefire between the US and Iran seems to be holding ahead of its expiration on Tuesday, there is still no clear end in sight to the war that has roiled global energy flows.
The US stock market doesn’t care as the all-time highs show.
“Offense is taking the field. Risk appetite has returned, and early cyclical rotation pressures are building beneath the surface of the broader market,” noted LPL Financial chief technical strategist Adam Turnquist.
That said, strategists warn that while there has been a broad renewal of equity momentum, markets will need to see real progress in Iran to keep it up. On Friday, Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Aragchi said the Strait of Hormuz was “completely open,” but ship traffic remained largely stalled.
