Closing Recap
Thursday, April 23, 2026
Index | Up/Down | % | Last |
DJ Industrials | -180.45 | 0.36% | 49,309 |
S&P 500 | -29.56 | 0.41% | 7,108 |
Nasdaq | -219.06 | 0.89% | 24,438 |
Russell 2000 | -10.28 | 0.37% | 2,775 |
U.S. stocks were volatile on Thursday, bouncing from overnight losses initially as the S&P 500 (SPX) made another intraday record high along with the Nasdaq, which was boosted by another surge in semiconductors, as technology remains the main driver of the stock market rally since the end of March. The Philly semiconductor index (SOX) made it a remarkable 17th straight day of gains to new record highs above 10,000, behind better earnings from TXN/LRCX/STM, continuing upside momentum, while the software bounce in April comes to a halt after NOW and IBM results weighed heavily on the sector. There were big gains in defensive sectors Consumer Staples, REITs and Utilities along with strength in Industrials, while tech faded. Bitcoin prices fail to take out $80K and fade while precious metals also broadly lower. Dow Transports fell over -4% at 21K, off the recent record highs of 24K as the 3-week short squeeze surge in CAR took the average to all-time highs, but as CAR tumbles to $215 after highs of $847.70 yesterday following the massive short squeeze the last few weeks, the index fell as well. Iran headlines made for a volatile afternoon.
Stocks faded early afternoon following reports Iran's Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf has resigned, according to Israel's N12 News, creating more concern about talks between the U.S. and Tehran, but were later dismissed as false by other Iranian outlets. The headlines were followed by an Axios report saying President Trump to greet Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors at the White House tonight, citing a Senior US Official. The headlines on Iran continue to move markets while earnings season starts to get busier. Then Iran’s Mehr news reported air defenses heard engaging hostile targets in parts of Tehran. Markets remained volatile following the ongoing headlines and lifted oil prices with WTI crude jumping over 5% above $98 per barrel, taking stocks lower and the VIX back above the 20 level (but ended below).
After a massive 18% move off lows for the Nasdaq in 4-weeks and the S&P, Nasdaq, Russell 2000, Dow Transports and Semi index all hitting record highs, market optimism is being tested with Iran/U.S. peace talks in limbo, software concerns reemerging after NOW results and the bond market flashing warning signals. Overnight, UK government bonds lead a broader selloff in global fixed Income markets as traders boosted bets on interest rate hike hikes by the Bank of England (BOE) after stronger-than-expected PMI data. Inflation fears back in the fray as oil prices advanced a 4th day as the US military said it intercepted two Iranian oil supertankers that tried to evade its blockade as Washington continues to stymie the Islamic Republic’s Shipping and Tehran threatens vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
Weekly sentiment readings: 1) This week’s NAAIM Exposure Index rose to 94.15 from 79.49 last week (and up from 69.38 just 2 weeks ago) - the 10-29-25 Reading of 100.83 was the highest since 7-3-24 - 2025 trough from 4-16-25 of 35.16 - Last Quarter Average (Q1) was 82.00 (down from 92.26 in Q4). 2) The bull-bear spread in the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) weekly survey was +11.6% vs -11.1 last week. Bulls rose to 46% from 31.7%, Neutrals fall to 19.5% from 25.5%, Bears fall to 34.4% from 42.8%.
Economic Data
- Weekly Jobless Claims climbed to 214,000 from 208,000 and vs. consensus 210,000; the 4-week moving average climbed to 210,750 from 210,000 prior week (previous 209,750) and continued claims climbed to 1.821M from 1.809M prior week (prev 1.818M).
- S&P Global April flash composite PMI at 52.0 (vs 50.3 in March), U.S. S&P Global April flash services PMI at 51.3 (forecast 50.3) and U.S. S&P Global April flash manufacturing PMI at 54.0 (forecast 52.5). The improvement came mostly from the manufacturing sector and was driven by what S&P Global said was "stock building in the face of concerns over supply availability and price hikes."
- UK government bonds lead a broader selloff in global fixed Income markets as traders boosted bets on interest rate hike hikes by the Bank of England (BOE) after stronger-than-expected PMI data. Swaps now imply around 59 basis points of tightening by year end, up from 51 bps at the close on Wednesday. UK two year yields rise 5 bps to 4.39%. UK PMIs also showed Manufacturing PMIs rising to 53.6 (51.0 prior). However, there was divergence from the Euro-zone in that UK Services also rose to 52.0 (from 50.5).
Commodities, Currencies & Treasuries
- U.S. WTI crude oil futures settle at $95.85/bbl, up $2.89, or 3.11% and Brent crude rose $3.16 or 3.1% to settle at $105.07 per barrel, spiking late day on reports air defenses were engaging targets over Tehran and of a power struggle between Iran hardliners and moderates. Those reports followed reports of drone attacks on Iranian Kurdish opponents of the Tehran government at a base in Iraq as the headlines remain active in the Middle East. June gold priced dropped -$29.00, or -0.61%, to settle at $4,724.00 an ounce, while May silver prices fell -$2.46/oz, or -3.15%, to settle at $75.50 as oil prices rose. The dollar index (DXY) hit a 10‑day high and tested the 99.00 level, though stable equities and muted implied volatility limited follow‑through. EUR/USD dipped toward its 200-day moving average at 1.1675 as Iran‑related risk lifted the dollar and oil.
Macro | Up/Down | Last |
WTI Crude | 2.89 | 95.85 |
Brent | 3.16 | 105.07 |
Gold | -29.00 | 4,724.00 |
EUR/USD | -0.0019 | 1.1687 |
JPY/USD | 0.28 | 159.65 |
10-Year Note | 0.023 | 4.317% |
Sector News Breakdown
Retail, Consumer Staples & Restaurants:
- In Footwear Retail: DECK was downgraded to Outperform from Strong Buy at Raymond James citing valuation for the downgrade with the shares up 11% since the January 29 earnings report and the firm upgraded ONON to Strong Buy with $52 tgt following recent weakness.
- In Apparel Retail: the WSJ reported LULU is hiring longtime NKE executive Heidi O'Neill to be its next Chief Executive. Hedgeye’ s Brian McGough noted, “Heidi O’Neill is literally the WORST Choice to be the new LULU CEO. She’s going to turn this company into an even hotter mess than it already is. So much talent out there and they picked the person that did nothing but fail at Nike. The Board messed up big time here.”
- In Toy Retail: HAS reports preliminary Q1 sales above estimates as guides preliminary Q1 revenue $970M-$985M, above consensus $908.83M as sees quarterly sales to rise between 3% and 5%; delays first-quarter earnings report due to a cybersecurity incident involving an unauthorized access to the toymaker's network.
- Food & Beverages: KDP reported Q1 EPS and sales that topped consensus helped by demand for its cold beverages; reaffirms 2026 targets (Q1 sales $3.98B beats $3.84B est.); Morgan Stanley lowered ests and tgts on BRBR, KHC, HSY, SJM, CPB, VITL and CAG to reflect recent trends, including a more challenging forward commodity outlook following the recent move higher in oil.
Travel, Autos, Leisure, Gaming & Lodging:
- In Autos: TSLA shares fell after the co 2026 estimate for capex will be “over $25B,” and will result in negative free cash flow for the rest of the year; also reported Q1 beat, with adj EPS of $0.41 above ests $0.33 and both revenue and margin were beats, with Auto gross margin unexpectedly strong at 19.2% vs est. 15.4%, while overall gross margin of 21.1% was a beat vs est. 17.5%; FCF of $1.4B was a solid beat vs consensus of negative -$1.6B.
- In Car Rental/Delivery: CAR was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan on unsustainable valuation not supported by fundamentals, even after materially raising price target to account for potentially highly favorable opportunistic capital market actions. JPMC views the recent extraordinary “short squeeze” driven rally as a potentially significant opportunity for management to create lasting value via opportunistic capital market transactions but are nevertheless downgrading the stock.
- In Airlines: LUV Q1 revs $7.2B vs est $7.265B, load factor 74.1%, capacity 1.5%, traffic 1.7%: guides Q2 adj EPS $0.35-0.65, CASM-X yr/yr 3.5-4.0%, as UBS noted Q1 RASM and Q2 guide was underwhelming relative to expectations; AAL lowered its 2026 profit forecast to $0.40 loss to $1.10 profit from prior view of $1.70-$2.70 profit citing sky-high jet fuel costs driven by the Iran war eat into profits.
- In Casinos & Gaming: LVS reported Q1 adj EPS and total revenue above expectations, driven by strong demand from both its Macau and Singapore businesses. Revenue from its Singapore operations rose 27.9% to $1.49B from a year earlier, while revenue from its Macau operations rose 23.7% to $2.11B, but boosted its capex view for the full year and Jefferies called out elevated promotional “intensity” in Macau’s premium segment. Bank America lower Q1 EBITDA estimate for FLUT to $105M, and DKNG Q1 EBITDA estimate to $130M, both below Street as think risk to Q1 numbers is understood, and now investor focus is moving to risk on full year numbers; also lower FY26 EBITDA estimates to the low end of guides: $700M for DraftKings and $850M for FanDuel.
- In Rental sector: URI shares rise on result and raised guide as Q1 adj EPS $9.71 vs est $8.97 on revs $3.99B vs est $3.87B; guides FY revs $16.9-17.4B vs est $17.06B and Bank America noted Fleet productivity is the key (Q1 2.3% vs Q4 0.5%)
Energy
- In Utilities/Nuclear: NEE Q1 adjusted EPS rose 10% yr/yr to $1.09 and added 4 GW renewables and storage to backlog, a record quarter for origination while reaffirmed 2026 adjusted EPS outlook and long-term growth targets; OKLO was initiated at Buy and $96 tgt at HSBC Holdings noting the co is positioned to leverage the new DOE-led licensing process for its 75 MW Aurora powerhouses and fuel Foundry with a total of four projects selected to participate in the Department of Energy's programs. OKLO also announced is teaming with NVDA on Nuclear fuel validation and Ai-driven R&D under the federal Genesis Mission.
- Oil Refiners: MUSA was upgraded from Underperform to Neutral at Bank America and raised tgt to $550 from $350 saying fuel prices are volatile again, and history shows that fuel price swings create outsized upside opportunity for fuel margins/cpg, EBITDA and EPS given MUSA's low-cost operating model.
Banks, Brokers, Asset Managers:
- In Brokers & Exchanges: HOOD said it had received in-principle approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore to offer Brokerage services in the City-state. The regulatory nod allows the U.S.-based trading platform to start offering services including trading of securities, exchange-traded derivatives, custody, product financing and Collective investment funds. NDAQ reported a top and bottom line beat, helped by higher trading volumes.
- In Private Credit/PE: BX Q1 revs $3.62B topped the $3.4B estimate as highlights inflows and positive asset appreciation; says its all-weather model protects amid disruption and enables investment in opportunities; reported almost $70B of inflows in Q1 2026.
- Regional Banks: HBAN board approves $3B share repurchase authorization; ISTR was downgraded to Neutral at Piper after 1Q26 results were better than we expected with lower expenses and a reversal of provision driving the beat relative to them; that said, they expect a more normalized qtr in 2Q
- In Consumer Finance: Dow component AXP Q1 revs $18.91B tops $18.62B estimate while the CFO says not seeing signs of slowdown in card spending; reaffirms FY26 EPS view $17.30-$17.90, vs. consensus $17.56; Q1 provisions for credit losses $1.3B vs EST $799.9M; Q1 card member spending grew 9% FX-ADJ.
Insurance & Services:
- In Insurance: AFL files for offering of up to 51.64M shares of common stock by selling stockholder; GHSD posted Q1 operating EPS of $0.37 beating consensus of $0.20 driven by better-than-expected contingent commissions ($10.7M vs $4.5M) and new business commission ($7.5M vs $6.1M est.), while renewal Royalty fees ($43.6M vs $43.5M est.) were in line (total revs beat); WRB was upgraded from Underperform to Market Perform Wat BMO Capital after results saying thinks Mitsui has played out and now reached 15% stated ownership (and is unlikely to go materially higher in the near-term) and 2027 consensus EPS ests have fallen 6% since last October, driven by less top-line growth. The Information reported that major insurers including Berkshire Hathaway, CB, TRV are taking steps to cut Ai-related damages from corporate Insurance policies, and U.S. State regulators are giving them the green Light.
Biotech & Pharma:
- ALT falls as announces common stock offering, saying intends to use net offering proceeds for upcoming Phase 3 trial in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), and other purposes.
- REGN announces agreement with us government to help lower drug costs for us patients and will provide new gene therapy for free in US.
- RHHBY Q1 revenue fell -5% y/y to 14.7B Swiss francs ($18.7B) was in line; At constant exchange rates, first-quarter sales rose 6%, driven by multiple sclerosis drug Ocrevus and once-monthly haemophilia shot Hemlibra. Their sales gained 6% and 13% respectively in currency-adjusted terms during the quarter.
- SNY posted a quarterly earnings beat, driven by its blockbuster eczema and asthma drug, Dupixent; Q1 sales EUR 10.51 billion ($12.29 billion), 3% over consensus, with business EPS at EUR 1.88 beating consensus by 6%; Dupixent sales also outperform expectations by 6%.
- Cannabis sector (ACB, CGC, CRLBF, CRON, CURLF, GRWG, GTBIF, MSOS, TCNNF, TLRY) active after President Trump’s acting attorney general Todd Blanche on Thursday signed an order reclassifying State-licensed Medical marijuana as a less-dangerous drug, a major policy shift long sought by advocates who said Cannabis should never have been treated like heroin by the federal government. The order signed by Todd Blanche does not legalize marijuana for Medical or recreational use under U.S. law. But it does change the way it’s regulated, shifting licensed Medical marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III.
Healthcare Services & MedTech movers:
- Life Sciences: TMO reported Q1 revenue$11.01B grew 6%, beating analyst expectations of $10.85B and adj EPS for Q1 rose 6%, beating analyst expectations; notes they expect the conflict in the middle East to create some modest level of inflationary pressure though notes end markets progressing as expected in our original guidance
- Medical Equipment: WST shares jumped after raising FY26 adj EPS forecast to $8.40-$8.75 from its prior forecast of $7.85-$8.20 per share (ests $8.01) after posting Q1 EPS beat $2.13 vs. $1.68.
- In CRO Sector: MEDP shares declined as weaker bookings/B2B and mgmt changes overshadowed beats in both revs and EBITDA while guidance was reiterated: Q1 bookings -15% vs. consensus, Net Book-to-Bill 0.88x; revs $707M vs. $693M and EBITDA $149.4M vs. $140M while President Jesse Geiger to resign.
- In Managed Care: MOH Q1 EPS of $2.35 above consensus $1.89 which reflected modestly lower topline (1.6)%/(0.6)% vs consensus, offset by consolidated MLR of 91.1%, which was 90-bps better (lower) than consensus.
Transports
- In Multi Industry: HON shares fell on mixed results as Q1 EPS $2.45 beat est. $2.32, but sales $9.1B miss ests $9.3B facing rising inflation and a challenging geopolitical environment during the recent quarter; now expects to complete Honeywell Aerospace spin-off on June 29, maintains 2026 sales outlook at $38.8B-$39.8B but lowers 2026 operating cash flow outlook to $4.4B-$4.7B. DOV forecast annual profit above estimates, banking on data center-led demand for its liquid cooling products and precision components
- In Defense sector: LMT shares came into the day down 7 straight and -10% during that stretch, extending losses today after mixed results as Q1 EPS $6.44 vs. est. $6.70; Q1 revs $18.02B below est. $18.24B as high costs on fixed-price contracts and production slowdowns impacted; Q1 profit in Lockheed's largest segment, aeronautics, was weighed down by production performance and development delays for its F-16 fighter jet; OSIS receives $235M homeland Defense contract
- In Transports: railroad CSX reported better-than-expected Q1 2026 results, largely driven by stronger cost performance while Morgan Stanley downgraded to Underweight from EW with $30 tgt as estimates remain largely in-line with cons for 2026 but about 5-9% below consensus for 2027/28 saying savings and operational efficiency appear to be more than reflected in numbers. UNP Q1 revs rose 3.2% to $6.2B, in-line while EPS of $2.93 topped the $2.86 driven by gains from stronger pricing and leaner operations, which helped offset a rise in operating costs; Q1 operating expenses rose 2.8% to $3.76 billion. Trucking stocks got a boost (JBHT, ARCB, WERN) after KNX results and guidance lifted shares.
- In Aerospace: aero parts maker HXL reported Q1 adj. EPS of $0.59 (up 61% Y/Y) beating consensus estimates of $0.43 and mgmt reiterated their full year 2026 Adj. EPS outlook
Materials, Metals & Mining
- In Metals: copper producer FCX shares tumbled as EPS of $0.57 beat ests $0.46, but Q1 copper production was down 23.7% to 662 million recoverable pounds from a year earlier and the co cut forecast for its Grasberg mine in Indonesia to 800 million pounds of copper and 700 million ounces of gold this year, compared with its prior expectations of 1.1 billion pounds of copper cathode and around 800 million ounces of gold; precious metal miners (CDE, NEM, AEM, HL) weaker again as oil prices rise, raising inflation concerns once again,]. In aluminum, KALU Q1 EPS $3.74 vs. est. $1.96 on revs $1.11Bvs. est. $999.9M; Q1 Adjusted EBITDA $129M.
Media, Hardware & Software movers:
- In Software: the sector concerns renewed after NOW tumbles on results and outlook as Wall Street analysts lowered price tgts across the board as Stifel noted investors were underwhelmed by the company's 2Q CC cRPO organic guide (~17% vs 20% 1Q), near-term Armis dilution and another skinny (~100bps) cRPO beat, while the company raised their CY26 AI target to $1.5B from $1B. The results and guidance halted the software sector rally with shares of ADBE, CRM, HUBS, MNDY, ORCL, SNOW, TEAMand WDAY all sharply lower. SKLZ shares surged over 200% after it was reported that Papaya Gaming Ltd. was found liable for false advertising and ordered by a federal court jury to pay $420M in damages to its mobile gaming rival.
- IT Services & Consulting: IBM shares fall as Q1 results/guidance largely in-line with positives RedHat (24% of software) accelerated to +10% versus Q425 +8% and Data/AI (21%) +8% organic growth versus +4% annual guide, while negatives were organic cc software growth decelerated from +7.5% Q425 to ~5% in Q126 and Automation (26%) organic growth decelerated sequentially from +5-6% Y/y to flattish. ASGN shares tumbled after disappointing Q126 results and weak Q226 guidance as the company cited fewer high-margin projects and lengthening sales cycles; Q2 guidance was weaker than expected given mix issues; guides Q2 revs $970M-$1.0B vs est $1.02B and adj EPS $0.72-$0.90 vs est $1.28.
- In Media/Telecom/Cable: CMCSA rallied on Q1 EPS beat and revs $31.46B topped the $30.43B estimate, said Peacock added 2 million paid subscribers to reach 46 million overall, but losses in the segment widened to $432M; added 435,000 wireless customers, its best quarter ever and topped estimate of 361,600 additions, while lost 65,000 broadband customers in Q1, less than the estimated loss of 175,500 users. NFLX authorizes buyback of additional $25b shares; MSGS was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup but raised tgt to $355 citing valuation for the downgrade following the stock's recent rally as no longer views risk/reward as attractive.
- META plans to cut about 10% of its workforce, or roughly 8,000 jobs, and eliminate 6,000 open roles as it tries to offset heavy Ai spending and run leaner, Bloomberg reports. The layoffs are set for May 2. The headlines raised more concerns about job cuts in the tech sector due to impact of AI. SNAP shares fell late day after report META’s Instagram is rolling out a new app that's a mix of Snapchat and BeReal.
Semiconductors:
- Philly semi index (SOX) has another record high and rises for a 17th consecutive session topping 10,000 for the first time as the SMH ETF is up 34% sine March 31st in an astounding upside move: AMAT, KLAC, AMD among names hitting all-time highs. INTC earnings are out after the close.
- INTC shares active after Elon Musk said the EV maker plans to use Intel's next gen 14A manufacturing process to make chips at its Terafab project, an advanced AI chip complex Musk has envisioned in Austin.
- SMCI shares tumbled after Bluefin said checks indicate firm lost material contract with ORCL. "Supermicro lost Oracle GB300 contract worth estimated at $1.1B+; also, B200 inventory concerns" "Our supply chain reads indicated that Supermicro has lost a significant contract with Oracle for Nvidia (NVDA) GB300 NVL72 racks.
- In Analog/auto semis: TXN posted strong Q1 results and guided Q2 higher driven by stronger demand within Industrials, which grew 20% q/q and 30% Y/y, and Data Center, which grew 25% q/q and 90% Y/y; Industrial demand broadened and accelerated through Q1, as it observed q/q and Y/y growth across all sectors and geos. STM delivers a modest 1Q top-line beat, Q1 revenue rises 23% beating estimates; raises datacenter outlook for 2026-2027, but margin pressure remains, with gross margins below historical; ON was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at B Riley and raise tgt to $115 from $64 as expects in-line to selectively better quarterly execution from the specialty materials companies despite persisting geopolitical risks.
- In Semi-equipment: ASML shares fall a second day after Reuters reported TSM showed its newest generation of chip manufacturing technology, saying it expects to be able to create smaller, faster chips without requiring expensive new machines from ASML; LRCX reported solid 2%/8% sales/pf-EPS beat and even better 9%/14% ahead for the JunQ guide as gross margins also upside by~100bps, now back to 50.5%, as mix and efficiency gains worked favorably despite worsening mix and CY26 WFE now $140B (from $135B).