Stock Bulls Power Longest Weekly Rally Since 2024: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — A record-breaking run drove stocks to their longest weekly advance since 2024 amid hopes for a deal to end the Iran war that has rattled financial markets and jeopardized the economic outlook.
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Efforts to turn a fragile ceasefire into lasting peace combined with solid corporate earnings and signs of economic strength sent the S&P 500 to its fifth consecutive week of gains. Tech companies led equities higher on Friday after Apple Inc. gave a solid outlook. US crude fell to around $102 a barrel on reports Tehran delivered a new proposal to Washington.
Iran is ready to engage in diplomacy if the US abandons its expansionist approach, threatening rhetoric, and provocative actions, according to state-run Islamic Republic News Agency, which cited calls held by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi with regional counterparts.
President Donald Trump said Tehran wants to make a deal, but he’s not “satisfied.” Speaking to reporters, Trump noted Iran is “asking for things that I can’t agree with” while adding that he would “prefer not” to strike the country.
“On US-Iran, put simply, any ceasefire agreement will be a market positive while any resumption of attacks would be a substantial negative,” said Tom Essaye at The Sevens Report.
Traders also weighed the latest economic data, with this year’s US manufacturing expansion extending into April even as the war drove input prices sharply higher.
Three Federal Reserve officials said they dissented over this week’s policy statement because it was no longer appropriate to signal the next move was still likely to be a rate cut.
“The FOMC should offer a policy outlook that signals that the next rate change could be either a cut or a hike,” Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari wrote. Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack said rising oil adds to price pressures. Her Dallas counterpart Lorie Logan expressed concern over how long it will take to return inflation to the target.
Wall Street has brushed off worries about the potential economic fallout from the war, with signs of corporate resilience fueling a rally that drove stocks to their best month since 2020. About 81% of the S&P 500’s companies have beaten first-quarter earnings estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“Both results and forward guidance have been good,” said Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi at UBS Chief Investment Office. “Tech is leading the way, but earnings growth is broadening, supported by resilient consumer spending and signs of a cyclical upswing.”
Corporate Highlights:
President Donald Trump said he was raising tariffs on cars and trucks from the European Union to 25%, claiming that the bloc had failed to fully comply with a trade agreement negotiated with the US. Trump said he delivered a final proposal to rescue Spirit Aviation Holdings Inc., but would only proceed if it’s a good deal for the US government — comments that cloud the fate of any bailout as the low-cost carrier lays the groundwork to end operations. The Pentagon has struck agreements with more technology companies for expanded use of advanced artificial intelligence tools on classified military networks, according to a Defense Department statement and two defense officials briefed on the matter. Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. posted stronger-than-expected earnings as higher oil and natural gas prices outweighed production outages from the Iran war. Estée Lauder Cos. plans to cut as many as 3,000 more jobs and generate a further $200 million of savings to help boost its turnaround plan. Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 rose 0.3% as of 4 p.m. New York time The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.9% The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1% The euro was little changed at $1.1721 The British pound fell 0.2% to $1.3573 The Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 157.06 per dollar Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin rose 2.5% to $78,355.7 Ether rose 1.8% to $2,303.31 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 4.38% Britain’s 10-year yield declined five basis points to 4.96% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.8% to $102.17 a barrel Spot gold fell 0.2% to $4,609.35 an ounce ©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
