Markets
Hope won out over fear last week as investors set their sights on a Middle East ceasefire holding and optimistic prospects for the Strait of Hormuz reopening.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 3.56 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite Index picked up 4.68 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 3.04 percent. The MSCI EAFE Index, which tracks developed overseas stock markets, increased 4.52 percent.¹²
Ceasefire Optimism
Stocks opened the week with modest gains, with the S&P 500 rising for the fourth consecutive trading day. Investors warily eyed the U.S.-imposed April 7 deadline for Iran to allow the free flow of oil and commerce through the Strait of Hormuz or risk further attacks on its energy infrastructure.³
Stocks opened lower Tuesday but recovered late in the session on news that Pakistan asked the U.S. to push its deadline out by two weeks.⁴
Markets then pushed higher on Wednesday following White House comments that the U.S. was suspending attacks for two weeks while it considered a ceasefire proposal. All three major averages gained more than 2.5 percent on Wednesday alone, as tech stocks led the rally.⁵
The relief rally continued through Thursday, as the Dow Industrials turned positive for the year.
On Friday, the markets shrugged off news that headline inflation rose to a two-year high in March. Stocks also looked past a disappointing consumer sentiment reading.⁶⁷
Mixed Inflation Report
The overall Consumer Price Index rose in March, but a closer look revealed why investors were nonplussed by the results.
“Headline” inflation—economist-speak for the overall inflation rate—rose 3.8 percent year over year last month. That was up from 2.4 percent in February and marked its highest level since April 2024. But underlying inflation stayed cool.
That’s because much of the rise in overall inflation was attributed to a 21 percent spike in gas prices, an outcome many investors expected.
So “core” inflation, which excludes energy and food prices, came in at 2.7 percent year over year, slightly below expectations.
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