Stocks Hold Near Peak as Busy Earnings Week Starts

Stocks held near record highs at the start of a week that will feature a raft of megacap earnings and central bank decisions, with traders weighing conflicting signs about progress toward ending the Iran war.

Following an advance that put the S&P 500 on pace for its best month since the depths of the pandemic, the gauge fluctuated. Brent crude topped $108. While a ceasefire has mostly held since early April, shipping blockades have cut daily transits through the Strait of Hormuz to near zero, prolonging the supply disruption that has jolted markets around the world.

Traders await tech earnings.

President Donald Trump has met with his national security team and a proposal from Iran was being discussed, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. Earlier, Axios reported Tehran had signaled it might accept an interim deal whereby it reopens Hormuz in exchange for Washington ending its blockade of ports.

Without much clarity on the geopolitical front, equity traders geared up for results from a handful of technology giants.

Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corp., Amazon.com Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. are set to report Wednesday, followed by Apple Inc. a day later. Those firms are worth nearly $16 trillion combined, representing a quarter of the S&P 500’s market capitalization.

“With headlines on Iran continuing to provide mixed messages, our sense is that investors will shift their focus toward individual company results,” said Chris Senyek at Wolfe Research.

Also this week, the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and peers in Japan, the UK and Canada are all scheduled to set interest rates, together deciding monetary policy for about half of the world’s economy.

While investors expect them to leave rates unchanged, markets will be on alert for signs officials, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell and ECB President Christine Lagarde, are worried about the inflation threat posed by the disruption to oil supply stemming from the war.

“The tone of the press conference will emphasize the prudence of the ongoing wait-and-see stance, although we suspect that investors are nearing the point at which one might expect the Fed to have a stronger conviction take on the fallout from the energy shock – even if that is unlikely to be communicated in its entirety,” said Ian Lyngen at BMO Capital Markets.Kristy Akullian, BlackRock Head of iShares Investment Strategy for the Americas joins Bloomberg Businessweek Daily to discuss the markets and the 2026 Spring Investment Directions Outlook

--------

Watch Bloomberg Radio LIVE on YouTube

Weekdays 7am-6pm ET

Saturday & Sunday 7am-10am ET

Follow us on X

Subscribe to our Podcasts:

Bloomberg Daybreak

Bloomberg Surveillance

Bloomberg Intelligence

Balance of Power

Bloomberg Businessweek

Listen on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business app:

Apple CarPlay

Android Auto

Visit our YouTube channels:

Bloomberg Podcasts

Bloomberg Television

Bloomberg Originals