[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite started on higher ground today and held that higher ground throughout today's session. In fact, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished at their best levels of the day and with record closing highs. They did so, fortified by leadership from the tech stocks and specifically the mega-cap tech stocks, software stocks, and semiconductor stocks.

It was a concentrated rally effort, but because the market's most influential sector was in a leadership position, the major indices looked better than breadth figures suggested.

To that end, advancers ended only slightly ahead of decliners at the NYSE but held a more comfortable lead at the tech-dominated Nasdaq.

Buying efforts today followed President Trump's announcement that he will extend the ceasefire with Iran to allow its fractured leadership more time to come up with a unified proposal for securing a lasting ceasefire. The caveat is that Iran only has a short time to do so or it will face a resumption of bombing efforts.

Stocks were not rattled by this thought, yet oil prices ($93.01, +3.45, +3.9%) reflected some lingering nervousness about the unsettled state of affairs with Iran and the Strait of Hormuz remaining a chokepoint for global energy supplies and goods.

The higher prices took some steam out of the broad market relief rally seen at the start of today's trading. The information technology (+2.3%), communication services (+1.4%), and energy (+1.1%) sectors were the only sectors up more than 1.0%. Four sectors--real state (-0.7%), industrials (-0.2%), financials (-0.2%), and utilities (-0.2%)--finished lower.

The underperformance of the industrials sector was a bit surprising given how Boeing (BA 231.28, +12.12, +5.53%), GE Vernova (GEV 1126.01, +134.71, +13.59%), and Masco (MAS 73.95, +7.19, +10.77%) fared after their earnings reports, but weakness in the defense stocks and airline stocks dictated the sector bias. United Airlines (UAL 91.71, -5.42, -5.58%) was a focal point, falling sharply after it cut its full-year outlook due in large part to rising fuel costs.

Elsewhere, Adobe (ADBE 255.94, +8.76, +3.54%) set a good tone for continued bargain hunting in the software space after it announced a $25 billion share repurchase program, while the mega-cap stocks set a good tone for the market. The Vanguard Mega-Cap Growth ETF (MGK 84.06, +1.69, +2.05%) jumped 2.0%.

Tesla (TSLA 387.20, +0.78, +0.20%), which is reporting after today's close, trailed the mega-cap cohort, which was led by Apple (AAPL 273.17, +7.00, +2.63%), Amazon (AMZN 255.36, +5.45, +2.18%), and Alphabet (GOOG 337.73, +7.26, +2.20%), which unveiled new chips to power next-gen agentic AI training and inference at scale.

There was no U.S. economic data of note today. The Treasury market ended the day roughly flat, battling back from early selling efforts with the help of a strong $13 billion 20-yr bond reopening.

[BRIEFING.COM] Today is a good day for the market at the index level. It's more of a "meh" day for the broader market, evidenced by an equal-weighted S&P 500 that is down 0.1% for the session.

Breadth figures connote a similar feeling, with advancers and decliners roughly even at the NYSE and advancers leading decliners at the Nasdaq by a 14-to-9 margin.

Today's strength has been concentrated in the tech stocks and the semiconductor stocks in particular, so it stands to reason that breadth looks better at the Nasdaq, which hit a new all-time high today.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is up 2.6% today, leaving it up 30.5% for the month!

[BRIEFING.COM] The market is in a holding pattern, which is okay because it is holding at a higher altitude. The Nasdaq Composite, for its part, sits near its highs for the day, as does the S&P 500, both of which have been underpinned by leadership from the mega-cap stocks.

Sector performance is more mixed now. The bulk of today's gains are emanating from the information technology (+2.0%), energy (+1.2%), and communication services (+1.1%) sectors.

Separately, oil prices ($93.00, +3.33, +3.7%) are also near their highs for the session. Earlier, there was an X post from Iran's speaker, who said, "Reopening the Strait of Hormuz is impossible with such a flagrant breach of the ceasefire." The Washington Post, meanwhile, is reporting that Pentagon officials have told Congress that clearing mines from the Strait of Hormuz could take six months.

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.75%) is in second place on Wednesday afternoon, up about 53 points.

Briefly, S&P 500 constituents Boston Scientific (BSX 64.64, +5.12, +8.60%), Intuitive Surgical (ISRG 486.67, +35.38, +7.84%), and Philip Morris International (PM 163.87, 10.62, +6.93%) pepper the top of the standings, all jumping after reporting earnings.

Meanwhile, Fair Isaac (FICO 891.20, -145.50, -14.03%) falls hard after Fannie Mae (FNMA 7.69, -0.20, -2.53%) and Freddie Mac (FMCC 6.77, -0.18, -2.59%) said they will begin accepting VantageScore 4.0 and later FICO 10T for mortgage lending, ending FICO's long-standing position as the primary credit scoring standard in the U.S. housing market. The change increases competition in credit scoring and raises concerns that FICO's dominance and pricing power in mortgage underwriting could erode over time..

[BRIEFING.COM] With about two hours to go on Wednesday afternoon the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (+1.44%) is atop the major averages, up about 349 points.

Gold futures settled $33.40 higher (+0.7%) at $4,753/oz, as lower Treasury yields and a softer dollar reduced holding costs and encouraged buying. Safe-haven demand tied to lingering geopolitical uncertainty, along with some technical and bargain-driven support after recent weakness, also helped drive the rebound.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index is higher by about +0.2% to $98.56.

[BRIEFING.COM] The Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.62%) is in last place on Wednesday afternoon, up about 304 points.

A look inside the DJIA shows that Boeing (BA 230.90, +11.74, +5.36%), Apple (AAPL 273.22, +7.05, +2.65%), and Microsoft (MSFT 431.65, +7.49, +1.77%) hold solid gains.

Meanwhile, IBM (IBM 250.16, -5.52, -2.16%) is decently lower.

The DJIA has now moved back into the green on the week.

Elsewhere, U.S. Treasuries sit on their lows with the 2-yr yield inching to a fresh high for the week while yields on 10s and 30s remain below yesterday's highs thanks to a continued show of relative strength from longer tenors. Today's intraday selling has taken place alongside a rise in the price of oil, which is now creeping toward $94/bbl. Equities, however, have been able to maintain their gains despite the headwind from crude oil. Back to Treasuries, the outperformance in longer tenors received some additional fuel from a strong $13 bln 20-yr bond reopening. The sale drew a high yield of 4.883%, which stopped through the when-issued yield by nearly a basis point while the bid-to-cover ratio (2.68x vs 2.64x average) and indirect takedown (67.4% vs 64.7% average) were above average.

[BRIEFING.COM] The major indices are all higher, but the broad-based buying interest seen at today's open has been dialed back. The bulk of today's gains are now concentrated in the small-cap and large/mega-cap names. The S&P Mid Cap 400 Index is down 0.4%, and the equal-weighted S&P 500 is down 0.1% versus a 0.4% gain for the Russell 2000, a 0.7% gain for the market-cap-weighted S&P 500, and a 1.5% gain for the Vanguard Mega-Cap Growth ETF.

A relief trade took root at today's open, precipitated by President Trump's announcement after yesterday's close that he is extending the ceasefire with Iran to allow its fractured leadership more time to come up with a unified proposal for a lasting ceasefire. The president stipulated that he is only giving them a short time to do so, or the ceasefire will end and military hostilities will resume, according to Axios.

Traders appreciated the forestalling of a worse scenario; however, rising oil prices ($93.26, +3.59, +4.00%) reflect some lingering nervousness about the Strait of Hormuz remaining a chokepoint for energy supplies and other goods.

The energy sector (+0.8%) has been in a leadership post today, but it is the information technology sector (+1.7%) that has held the command post.

A $25 billion share buyback announcement by Adobe (ADBE 255.46, +8.28, +3.35%) has fueled some continued bargain hunting in the software space, but a solid gain in Apple (AAPL 272.46, +6.29, +2.36%) coupled with outsized gains in many semiconductor stocks like Micron (MU 485.42, +36.04, +8.02%), Broadcom (AVGO 417.80, +15.63, +3.89%), and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD 297.15, +12.66, +4.45%) has fueled the outperformance.

NVIDIA (NVDA 201.24, +1.36, +0.68%) is up but is lagging the group after Alphabet (GOOG 334.97, +4.50, +1.36%) unveiled its TPU 8t and TPU 8i chips to power net-gen agentic training and inference at scale.

Separately, Boeing (BA 232.10, +12.94, +5.91%), Masco (MAS 75.39, +8.63, +12.93%), and GE Vernova (GEV 1112.52, +121.22, +12.23%) have outperformed on the back of their Q1 earnings results, but their gains haven't been enough to keep the industrials sector (-0.4%) in positive territory. Most sector components are lower.

The industrials sector is one of three sectors trading lower today. The other two are real estate (-0.7%) and financials (-0.2%).

There was no U.S. economic data of note today, although the MBA's Mortgage Application Index was up 7.9% wk/wk, with purchase applications up 10% and refinance applications up 6%.

[BRIEFING.COM] The major indices are off their highs but have retained the bulk of their early gains thanks to the leadership of the mega-cap stocks. The equal-weighted S&P 500, up 0.8% earlier, is now flat for the session.

Tesla (TSLA 389.88, +3.46, +0.90%) is one of the mega-cap leaders. Tesla reports its quarterly results after the close.

Other luminaries set to report after today's close include CSX (CSX 43.30, -0.07, -0.16%), IBM (IBM 252.90, -2.78, -1.09%), Knight-Swift (KNX 63.88, -0.98, -1.51%), Lam Research (LRCX 261.86, +3.49, +1.35%), Las Vegas Sands (LVS 56.90, -0.64, -1.11%), ServiceNow (NOW 103.17, +3.03, +3.03%), Southwest Air (LUV 39.50, -1.42, -3.47%), Texas Instruments (TXN 235.52, +2.37, +1.02%), and United Rentals (URI 805.10, -1.12, -0.14%).

Be sure to check Briefing.com's Earnings Results and Earnings Guidance calendars for the full rundown of reports today and throughout the first-quarter earnings reporting period.

[BRIEFING.COM] Not much change since the last update, as the market is holding to a narrow trading range without much conviction on the part of buyers or sellers.

Some government-related news drawing some extra attention includes Treasury Secretary Bessent indicating at a hearing that many Gulf allies have requested swap lines from the Treasury or Fed, Commerce Secretary Lutnick noting that the U.S. is not selling Blackwell chips to China, and The Wall Street Journal reporting that the Trump administration is nearing a $500 million deal for Spirit Airlines (FLYYQ 1.30, +0.70, +116.7) with a potential equity stake.

Spirit Airlines is flying on the latter news, yet airline stocks are generally lower today with oil prices up and United Airlines (UAL 90.82, -6.30, -6.49%) lowering its full-year EPS outlook to $7.00-11.00 from $12.00-$14.00 due in large part to rising fuel costs.

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market's gains today have followed on the heels of President Trump's declaration that he is extending the ceasefire with Iran to give its fractured leadership more time to come up with a unified proposal aimed at securing a lasting ceasefire. They will only be given a short time to do so, however, or the ceasefire will end and military action will be resumed.

This latest development eased some of the angst that had been building yesterday; however, there isn't an unmitigated sigh of relief today knowing the Strait of Hormuz continues to be a chokepoint and knowing that Iran is not a fan of the U.S. continuing the blockade of its ports.

Some lingering nervousness is evident in the upward drift in WTI crude prices today ($91.96, +2.29, +2.6%), which has been a boon for the S&P 500 energy sector (+0.8%).

The bulk of today's gains, though, have been fueled by leadership from the market's biggest stocks by market capitalization. The equal-weighted S&P 500 is up just 0.2% versus a 0.9% gain for the market cap-weighted S&P 500, which has drawn additional support from the moves in Boeing (BA 226.48, +7.32, +3.34%) and GE Vernova (GEV 1116.00, +124.70, +12.58%) following their earnings reports and the move in Adobe (ADBE 255.01, +7.83, +3.17%) after it announced a $25 billion share repurchase program.

The information technology (+1.6%) and communication services (+1.1%) sectors are the only sectors up more than 1.0%. Real estate (-0.3%) is the only sector in red figures.

The Nasdaq Composite is up 1.3%; the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 0.8%; and the Russell 2000 is up 0.7%.

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market is sitting on some solid gains, although that has been driven in large part by the outperformance of the mega-cap cohort. The Vanguard Mega-Cap Growth ETF (MGK 83.56, +1.19, +1.44%) is up 1.4% versus a 0.2% gain for the equal-weighted S&P 500 and a 0.8% gain for the market cap-weighted S&P 500.

The usual leaders are doing their thing, including NVIDIA (NVDA 201.18, +1.30, +0.65%), which presumably has more competition on its hands now after Alphabet (GOOG 335.62, +5.15, +1.56%) unveiled its TPU 8t and TPU 8i chips to power next-gen agentic AI training and inference at scale at its Google Cloud Next conference.

Today's other leaders include Apple (AAPL 271.62, +5.45, +2.05%), Amazon (AMZN 252.70, +2.79, +1.12%), Meta Platforms (META 673.32, +4.48, +0.67%), Tesla (TSLA 391.37, +4.95, +1.28%), and Microsoft (MSFT 429.89, +5.73, +1.35%).

Beyond the so-called "Magnificent 7," Eli Lilly (LLY 919.90, +16.88, +1.87%) and Broadcom (AVGO 413.56, +11.39, +2.83%) are also on the move.

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market is in good form to begin the day, with the indices adding to some monstrous month-to-date gains. The Nasdaq is up 13.7%; the Russell 2000 is up 11.7%; the S&P 500 is up 9.2%; the S&P Mid Cap 400 is up 8.3%; and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 7.0%.

They are all looking up at the Dow Jones Transportation Average, however, which is up a whopping 29.8% in a rented move, so to speak. Avis Budget Group (CAR 737.44, +23.47, +3.29%) has soared on a monumental short squeeze. At its high this morning (847.70), CAR was up 481% since the end of March.

Look for CAR and the DJTA to come down sharply at some point in the not-too-distant future, yet the broader market seems likely to levitate as long as the earnings results and guidance continue to deliver on high expectations, as they are doing so far in Q1.

According to FactSet, the blended Q1 EPS growth rate for the S&P 500 is 14.2% versus 12.5% on April 10.

[BRIEFING.COM] Opening buying interest is broad-based, as expected, with a relief trade kicking in on the understanding that President Trump extended the ceasefire with Iran to allow its fractured leadership more time to come up with a unified proposal. He said they will have a short time to do so or the ceasefire will end.

In the meantime, the blockade of Iran continues, and concerns fester about the Strait of Hormuz remaining a chokepoint for energy supplies and other goods. WTI crude futures are up 2.3%, or $2.05, to $91.72/bbl.

The latter has put some extra pep in the step of the energy sector (+1.3%), which has company with the utilities sector (+1.1%) at the top of the sector leaderboard. The information technology sector (+0.7%) is also keeping pace with the market and is the biggest influence on the upside action to begin the day.

Separately, Boeing (BA 223.91, +4.75, +2.17%) and GE Vernova (GEV 1116.83, +125.53, +12.66%), which posted better-than-expected Q1 results, are helping to prop up an industrials sector (+0.5%) that is showing some early underperformance.

[BRIEFING.COM] Opening buying interest is broad-based, as expected, with a relief trade kicking in on the understanding that President Trump extended the ceasefire with Iran to allow its fractured leadership more time to come up with a unified proposal. He said they will have a short time to do so or the ceasefire will end.

In the meantime, the blockade of Iran continues, and concerns fester about the Strait of Hormuz remaining a chokepoint for energy supplies and other goods. WTI crude futures are up 2.3%, or $2.05, to $91.72/bbl.

The latter has put some extra pep in the step of the energy sector (+1.3%), which has company with the utilities sector (+1.1%) at the top of the sector leaderboard. The information technology sector (+0.7%) is also keeping pace with the market and is the biggest influence on the upside action to begin the day.

Separately, Boeing (BA 223.91, +4.75, +2.17%) and GE Vernova (GEV 1116.83, +125.53, +12.66%), which posted better-than-expected Q1 results, are helping to prop up an industrials sector (+0.5%) that is showing some early underperformance.

The S&P 500 futures trade 46 points above fair value.

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended the midweek session on a mixed note. South Korea's March PPI increased at its fastest year-over-year pace in three years. Japan's March trade surplus was smaller than expected due to a big jump in imports, including a 13.9% yr/yr increase in LNG imports. Expectations for a May rate hike from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand increased to about 50% after yesterday's release of the second consecutive above-target CPI reading.

• In economic data:
  • Japan's March trade surplus JPY90 bln (expected surplus of JPY230 bln; last deficit of JPY370 bln). March Imports 10.9% yr/yr (expected 7.1%; last 10.3%) and Exports 11.7% yr/yr (expected 11.0%; last 4.0%)
  • South Korea's March PPI 1.6% m/m (last 0.6%); 4.1% yr/yr (last 2.5%)
  • Australia's March MI Leading Index -0.1% m/m (last -0.1%)

---Equity Markets---

• Japan's Nikkei: +0.4%
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng: -1.2%
• China's Shanghai Composite: +0.5%
• India's Sensex: -1.0%
• South Korea's Kospi: +0.5%
• Australia's ASX All Ordinaries: -1.1%

Major European indices trade near their flat lines with some renewed concerns about the U.S.-Iran conflict after Vice President Vance's trip to Pakistan was called off. However, President Trump said that the ceasefire will be extended. Travel operator TUI lowered its guidance due to increased energy prices and war-related uncertainty. Lufthansa is scrapping about 20,000 short-haul flights through October due to a tight supply of jet fuel.

• In economic data:
  • Eurozone's 2025 debt-to-GDP ratio 87.8% (prior 87.0%) and 2025 budget-to-GDP ratio -2.9% (last -3.0%)
  • U.K.'s March CPI 0.7% m/m (expected 0.6%; last 0.4%); 3.3% yr/yr, as expected (last 3.0%). March Input PPI 4.4% m/m (expected 2.8%; last 0.9%); 5.4% yr/yr (last 0.7%) and Output PPI 0.9% m/m (expected 1.0%; last -0.5%); 2.6% yr/yr (last 1.8%). March Core CPI 0.4% m/m (expected 0.5%; last 0.6%); 3.1% yr/yr (expected 3.2%; last 3.2%)

---Equity Markets---

• STOXX Europe 600: -0.1%
• Germany's DAX: -0.3%
• U.K.'s FTSE 100: -0.1%
• France's CAC 40: -0.4%
• Italy's FTSE MIB: +0.1%
• Spain's IBEX 35: -0.5%

Equity futures point to a higher opening this morning, lifted by a relief bid. Yesterday's session featured some angst about the prospect of military hostilities resuming, as it became known Iran would not be sending negotiators to Pakistan to meet with Vice President Vance. The relief bid kicked in after yesterday's close when President Trump announced that he is going to extend the ceasefire with Iran, recognizing that its leadership is fractured and needs more time to come up with a unified proposal. Until then, the U.S. blockade of Iran will continue. 

Oil prices have firmed (WTI +1.0% to $90.59/bbl), with traders trying to reconcile the possibility of an eventual deal with the specter of the Strait of Hormuz remaining a chokepoint for global energy supplies and other key goods.

The stock market, though, isn't being held back. It is playing the so-called "TACO trade" once again while keying off more good earnings news, sliding Treasury yields, and a large share buyback announcement by Adobe.

There is no U.S. economic data of note today, although the MBA Mortgage Applications Index was reported earlier to be up 7.9% wk/wk, with purchase applications up 10% and refinance applications up 6%.

The 10-yr note yield is down two basis points to 4.27%. There will be a $13 billion 20-yr bond auction today, with results out at 1:00 p.m. ET.

In corporate news:

• Adobe (ADBE 253.92, +6.74, +2.7%): announces new $25 billion stock repurchase program
• AT&T (T 25.55, -0.33, -1.3%): misses by $0.01, reports revs in-line
• Best Buy (BBY 63.75, -2.84, -4.3%): Jason Bonfig, the company's Chief Customer, Product and Fulfillment Officer, to succeed Corie Barry as the next CEO. Barry will step down as CEO and member of the Board on Oct. 31 of this year.
• Boeing (BA 226.75, +7.59, +3.5%): beats by $0.48, beats on revs; 737 program continues to produce at 42/mo; says it's building on momentum with a strong start to the year
• Capital One (COF 200.00, -2.50, -1.2%): misses by $0.08, reports revs in-line
• GE Vernova (GEV 1075.94, +84.64, +8.5%): reports Q1 (Mar) results, beats on revs; raises FY26 guidance
• United Airlines (UAL 98.46, +1.33, +1.4%): beats by $0.11, beats on revs, TRASM up 6.9%; guides Q2 EPS below consensus; guides FY26 EPS in-line

Reviewing overnight developments:

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended the midweek session on a mixed note. Japan's Nikkei: +0.4%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng: -1.2%, China's Shanghai Composite: +0.5%, India's Sensex: -1.0%, South Korea's Kospi: +0.5%, Australia's ASX All Ordinaries: -1.1%.

In news:

• South Korea's March PPI increased at its fastest year-over-year pace in three years.
• Japan's March trade surplus was smaller than expected due to a big jump in imports, including a 13.9% yr/yr increase in LNG imports.
• Expectations for a May rate hike from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand increased to about 50% after yesterday's release of the second consecutive above-target CPI reading.

In economic data: 

• Japan's March trade surplus JPY90 bln (expected surplus of JPY230 bln; last deficit of JPY370 bln). March Imports 10.9% yr/yr (expected 7.1%; last 10.3%) and Exports 11.7% yr/yr (expected 11.0%; last 4.0%)
• South Korea's March PPI 1.6% m/m (last 0.6%); 4.1% yr/yr (last 2.5%)
• Australia's March MI Leading Index -0.1% m/m (last -0.1%)

Major European indices trade near their flat lines with some renewed concerns about the U.S.-Iran conflict after Vice President Vance's trip to Pakistan was called off. However, President Trump said that the ceasefire will be extended. STOXX Europe 600: unchanged, Germany's DAX: -0.2%, U.K.'s FTSE 100: unchanged, France's CAC 40: -0.3%, Italy's FTSE MIB: unchanged, Spain's IBEX 35: -0.5%.

In news:

• Travel operator TUI lowered its guidance due to increased energy prices and war-related uncertainty.
• Lufthansa is scrapping about 20,000 short-haul flights through October due to a tight supply of jet fuel.

In economic data:

• Eurozone's 2025 debt-to-GDP ratio 87.8% (prior 87.0%) and 2025 budget-to-GDP ratio -2.9% (last -3.0%)
• U.K.'s March CPI 0.7% m/m (expected 0.6%; last 0.4%); 3.3% yr/yr, as expected (last 3.0%). March Input PPI 4.4% m/m (expected 2.8%; last 0.9%); 5.4% yr/yr (last 0.7%) and Output PPI 0.9% m/m (expected 1.0%; last -0.5%); 2.6% yr/yr (last 1.8%). March Core CPI 0.4% m/m (expected 0.5%; last 0.6%); 3.1% yr/yr (expected 3.2%; last 3.2%)

• Russell 2000: +11.4% YTD
• S&P Mid Cap 400: +10.4% YTD
• Nasdaq Composite: +4.4% YTD
• S&P 500: +3.2% YTD
• DJIA: +2.3% YTD

Reviewing today's data:

• March Retail Sales 1.7% (Briefing.com consensus 1.3%); Prior was revised to 0.7% from 0.6%, March Retail Sales, ex-auto 1.9% (Briefing.com consensus 0.9%); Prior was revised to 0.7% from 0.5%
  • The key takeaway from the report is that retail sales look great from a headline perspective, but higher gas prices and higher prices in general were the main drivers. Excluding gasoline sales, retail sales were up 0.6% month-over-month, which looks good, but remember retail sales are not adjusted for price changes. Accordingly, it becomes evident that the sales gains in March were driven more by higher prices than increased volume, which is a better indication of demand.
• February Business Inventories 0.4% (Briefing.com consensus 0.1%); Prior -0.1%
• March Pending Home Sales 1.5% (Briefing.com consensus 0.5%); Prior was revised to 2.5% from 1.8%