Market Highlights

Wall Street traders drove bonds lower and stocks wavered as a divided Federal Reserve held rates steady and signaled the war in Iran is clouding the economic outlook. Brent crude hit the highest since 2022. With no end in sight to the Middle East conflict, money markets all but abandoned wagers on a rate cut this year and began pricing in the chances of a hike in 2027. Treasury 10-year yields hit a one-month high. Most shares in the S&P 500 fell. In late hours, Meta Platforms Inc. slid after boosting its spending outlook. Microsoft Corp.’s cloud growth failed to ease investors’ artificial-intelligence concerns. Alphabet Inc. climbed on solid sales. Oil surged to the highest level in almost four years amid growing pessimism about efforts to end the Middle East conflict. Stocks swung to losses after earlier getting a boost from megacap tech earnings.

A selloff in technology giants dragged down stocks as concerns resurfaced over whether vast investments in artificial intelligence will pay off just as traders gear up for a slew of megacap results. The industry that has powered this month’s equity rally got hit on a news report that OpenAI failed to meet its own goals for new user acquisition and sales, fueling worries the firmmay struggle to support its AI infrastructure spending. Partners such as Oracle Corp. and CoreWeave Inc. slumped, with the S&P 500 dropping from a record. The Nasdaq 100 lost 1%. US equity-index futures rose as investors positioned ahead of a raft of earnings from the largest technology companies in what has been a generally upbeat reporting season. Markets are also awaiting a Federal Reserve policy decision.

April’s rally in risk assets has weathered stalled peace talks, signs of resurgent inflation and a central-bank succession drama. Investors may be about to findout if the speed of the advance itself poses a threat to a further ascent. Global equities enter the week at or near records, with the S&P 500 up almost 10% since the end of March, putting it on pace for the best monthly advance since late 2020. Treasury yields fell Friday as the closing of a Justice Department probe of Fed Chief Jerome Powell cleared a path to Kevin Warsh’s confirmation, boosting bets that the central bank could resume cutting interest rates before the year is out. Technology stocks led equity markets lower as concerns over whether the vast amount of investment in artificial intelligence will pay off resurfaced. Brent rose above $110 a barrel as the Strait of Hormuz stayed shut.

April’s rally in risk assets has weathered stalled peace talks, signs of resurgent inflation and a central-bank succession drama. Investors may be about to findout if the speed of the advance itself poses a threat to a further ascent. Global equities enter the week at or near records, with the S&P 500 up almost 10% since the end of March, putting it on pace for the best monthly advance since late 2020. Treasury yields fell Friday as the closing of a Justice Department probe of Powell cleared a path to Kevin Warsh’s confirmation, boosting bets that the central bank could resume cutting interest rates before the year is out. Stocks advanced and the dollar slipped following a report that Iran offered the US a proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, easing concern that efforts to restart peace talks had stalled.

A fresh bout of volatility rattled markets, with stocks falling as oil rose on concern about an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East that could prolong the Strait of Hormuz closure, worsening energy disruptions. The standoff drove Brent above $105 on worries that peace talks have stalled, rhetoric is amping up and military threats are increasing. A rally in the S&P 500 paused, with the index dropping as much as 1.3% before paring its decline. In late hours, Intel Corp. surged on a strong outlook, fueling gains in chipmakers. The group notched a 17th straight advance in regular trading. Oil rose for a fifth day as concerns grew that the US and Iran were making little progress toward resuming talks on de-escalation, keeping the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed.

Stocks climbed to all-time highs as a slew of strong corporate results and President Donald Trump’s extension of a ceasefire with Iran revived risk appetites after a two-day retreat. Bitcoin rallied. The S&P 500’s 1% gain extended its advance for the month, set to be the best since 2020. Chipmakers climbed for a 16th straight day, the longest-ever winning streak. Boeing Co. surged on solid first-quarter deliveries. In late hours, Tesla Inc. jumped as earnings beat estimates. Texas Instruments Inc. gave a strong forecast for the current period. Stocks and bonds dropped as stalled US-Iran talks and the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz drove oil prices higher, souring risk sentiment after a record rally on Wall Street.

A rebound in oil drove stocks lower as traders awaited confirmation that Iran will join the US in peace talks before a ceasefire expires, with the two sides still at odds on key issues. Equities wiped out an advance that had earlier put the S&P 500 on pace for a record. The New York Times reported that Vice President JD Vance’s trip to Islamabad has been put on hold after Tehran failed to respond to US negotiating positions. Brent hovered near $98. Treasury yields rose alongside the dollar. US equity-index futures climbed and oil dropped after President Donald Trump said he would extend the ceasefire with Iran, spurring cautious optimism among investors.

A rally in oil drove stocks lower as a turbulent weekend in the Middle East cast doubt on prospects for peace talks between the US and Iran before their fragile ceasefire deal expires. Equities fell from record highs, with the S&P 500 halting a five-day advance amid losses in several tech giants. President Donald Trump said it’s unlikely he would extend a truce with Tehran if an agreement isn’t reached before it ends, adding the Strait of Hormuz would remain blocked until an accord is finalized.Brent settled above $95. Treasuries and the dollar wavered. A rally in global equities resumed after a brief pause, as signs Iran may join talks with the US added to optimism over progress in the Middle East ahead of a looming ceasefire deadline. Oil declined.

Traders are preparing for a bumpy open to the week as a continued standoff around the Strait of Hormuz revives the uncertainty that Wall Street had been eager to look past, after a week that drove the S&P 500 Index to a record and pushed oil back toward $90 a barrel. Iran warned over the weekend that ships approaching the waterway “under any pretext” would be treated as violating the ceasefire, with its Revolutionary Guard Corps firingon commercial vessels and leaving tanker operators waiting on Tehran. The moves hardened an impasse that had appeared to ease Friday, when signals of a thaw fueled a broad rally in risk assets. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said the Islamic Republic would skip a second round of US-Iran talks in Islamabad this week while the American naval blockade remained in place, with messages still moving through intermediaries.

US stocks held onto record highs as traders digested a flurryof headlines on the conflict in the Middle East, brushing aside warnings that the US-Iran war would continue to linger for months. The S&P 500 edged up 0.3%, notching another all-time high after the benchmark closed above the 7,000 mark for the firsttime on Wednesday. President Donald Trump said prospects for a deal with Iran are “looking very good.” He said he believed Iran had agreed to terms it has long resisted, including giving up ambitions for a nuclear weapon. Tehran has not publicly confirmed it’s made those concessions A record-breaking rally in global equities stalled in Asia as investors trimmed positions ahead of the weekend while awaiting progress on extending the US-Iran ceasefire.