S&P 500 Climbs to All-Time Highs; Tesla Jumps Late: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — 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 are rebounding after suffering the first back-to-back losses of the month, with President Trump’s ceasefire extension and upbeat earnings reports driving continued equity upside,” said Jose Torres at Interactive Brokers.
Trump’s ceasefire extension represented a retreat from threats to resume the bombing of Iran in the event a deal couldn’t be reached by a Wednesday deadline, a move that would have revived a war that’s killed thousands of people and sent energy prices soaring.
The question now is whether the two sides can reach an agreement. Tensions remain high as Tehran keeps a tight grip on the Strait of Hormuz, controlling passage through the trade route and firing on ships. The US refuses to lift its blockade on Iranian-linked vessels. Brent oil settled near $102.
The situation is “calm and chaotic” at the same time, according to Kenny Polcari at SlateStone Wealth.
“While the Iran conflict is ongoing, my sense is that investors are already starting to look through it and focus on what really matters,” he said. “We’ve seen this movie before — the headlines hit, the market reacts, then it settles down and refocuses on fundamentals.”
Strong corporate profits, the revival of the artificial-intelligence trade and an otherwise resilient economy have buoyed stocks despite lingering geopolitical risks. Nearly 80% of the S&P 500 companies reporting first-quarter results have beaten analyst earnings estimates so far, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
While there is still uncertainty and saber rattling over the Iran conflict, markets are forward-looking, noted Rick Gardner at RGA Investments.
“It’s possible that we see a continuation of negative headlines, ultimatums and deadlines for negotiations, but that doesn’t mean that stocks will react meaningfully to each one, since markets already priced-in the worst of the conflict,” he said.
Corporate Highlights:
International Business Machines Corp. posted quarterly sales in its software unit that were in line with estimates, failing to shake investor concerns about AI disruption to its business. ServiceNow Inc., a provider of software for business tasks, reported lukewarm results and said some sales deals have been delayed by the war in the Middle East. Alphabet Inc.’s Google Cloud division unveiled the latest generation of its tensor processing unit, or TPU, a homegrown chip that’s designed to make AI computing services faster and more efficient. Southwest Airlines Co. reported adjusted quarterly profit and revenue that fell just shy of Wall Street’s expectations, as the US carrier joins rivals in grappling with higher fuel costs. Lululemon Athletica Inc. named Heidi O’Neill its new chief executive officer as the athletic retailer looks to move beyond a turbulent period of slowing growth and investor unrest. What Bloomberg Strategists say…
“Wednesday’s return to the post-shock playbook is happening as uncertainty is still high. Investors have gone back to taking comfort from earnings beats, AI capex growth tailwinds and a US consumer that has so far absorbed higher gasoline prices better than feared. That leaves a painful asymmetry.”
—Michael Ball, Macro Strategist, Markets Live. For the full analysis, click here.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 rose 1% as of 4 p.m. New York time The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.7% The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7% The MSCI World Index rose 0.6% Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro fell 0.3% to $1.1705 The British pound was little changed at $1.3502 The Japanese yen fell 0.1% to 159.56 per dollar Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin rose 4.2% to $78,920.1 Ether rose 3.7% to $2,400.52 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 4.30% Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 3.01% Britain’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 4.91% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 3.2% to $92.55 a barrel Spot gold rose 0.4% to $4,738.52 an ounce ©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
