{"id":12750,"date":"2026-04-24T08:50:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T08:50:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hazelbakerfinancial.com\/weekly-market-performance-april-24-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T08:50:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T08:50:40","slug":"weekly-market-performance-april-24-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advisors3.bradcable.com\/hazelbakerfinancial\/weekly-market-performance-april-24-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Market Performance | April 24, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
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LPL Research<\/a>
\nLast Updated: April 24, 2026<\/p>\n

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LPL Research provides its Weekly Market Performance for the week of\u00a0April\u00a020,\u00a02026.<\/b>\u00a0Markets experienced another volatile week amid busy Mideast headlines, rising oil prices, and a busy earnings calendar. U.S. equities managed to push to record highs late in the week, supported by artificial intelligence\u00a0enthusiasm\u00a0and broadly strong first-quarter earnings,\u00a0while ceasefire hopes\u00a0offset\u00a0ongoing tensions\u00a0around\u00a0the Strait of Hormuz that pressured sentiment. International markets were more mixed, with Europe weighed down by\u00a0higher crude prices\u00a0and Asia supported by strength in technology shares. Meanwhile, Treasury yields\u00a0rose,\u00a0the dollar strengthened, and commodities\u00a0bounced.<\/p>\n

Stock Index Performance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Index<\/b><\/td>\nWeek-Ending<\/b><\/td>\nOne Month<\/b><\/td>\nYear to Date<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
S&P 500<\/b><\/td>\n0.50%<\/td>\n9.23%<\/td>\n4.62%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dow Jones Industrial<\/b><\/td>\n-0.49%<\/td>\n6.68%<\/td>\n2.37%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nasdaq Composite<\/b><\/td>\n1.55%<\/td>\n14.18%<\/td>\n6.91%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Russell 2000<\/b><\/td>\n0.49%<\/td>\n11.38%<\/td>\n12.44%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
MSCI EAFE<\/b><\/td>\n-2.51%<\/td>\n6.75%<\/td>\n5.91%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
MSCI EM<\/b><\/td>\n0.13%<\/td>\n12.75%<\/td>\n16.48%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

S&P 500 Index Sectors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Sector<\/b><\/td>\nWeek-Ending<\/b><\/td>\nOne Month<\/b><\/td>\nYear to Date<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Materials<\/b><\/td>\n0.02%<\/td>\n7.66%<\/td>\n14.02%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Utilities<\/b><\/td>\n0.14%<\/td>\n2.44%<\/td>\n8.27%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Industrials<\/b><\/td>\n-0.55%<\/td>\n5.19%<\/td>\n11.24%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Consumer Staples<\/b><\/td>\n0.94%<\/td>\n2.85%<\/td>\n8.57%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Real Estate<\/b><\/td>\n-1.28%<\/td>\n8.83%<\/td>\n9.56%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Health Care<\/b><\/td>\n-3.04%<\/td>\n-0.51%<\/td>\n-6.90%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Financials<\/b><\/td>\n-1.86%<\/td>\n4.33%<\/td>\n-6.09%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Consumer Discretionary<\/b><\/td>\n-0.18%<\/td>\n11.37%<\/td>\n1.50%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Information Technology<\/b><\/td>\n3.13%<\/td>\n17.12%<\/td>\n8.00%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Communication Services<\/b><\/td>\n-0.63%<\/td>\n12.41%<\/td>\n5.37%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Energy<\/b><\/td>\n2.77%<\/td>\n-7.35%<\/td>\n26.03%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Fixed Income and Commodities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Indexes and Commodities<\/b><\/td>\nWeek-Ending<\/b><\/td>\nOne Month<\/b><\/td>\nYear to Date<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate<\/b><\/td>\n-0.40%<\/td>\n1.02%<\/td>\n0.43%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bloomberg Credit<\/b><\/td>\n-0.35%<\/td>\n1.36%<\/td>\n0.42%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bloomberg Munis<\/b><\/td>\n0.03%<\/td>\n1.65%<\/td>\n1.31%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bloomberg High Yield<\/b><\/td>\n-0.23%<\/td>\n1.86%<\/td>\n1.24%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Oil<\/b><\/td>\n12.55%<\/td>\n2.19%<\/td>\n64.35%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Natural Gas<\/b><\/td>\n-5.87%<\/td>\n-14.48%<\/td>\n-31.71%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gold<\/b><\/td>\n-2.27%<\/td>\n5.48%<\/td>\n9.29%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Silver<\/b><\/td>\n-5.58%<\/td>\n7.25%<\/td>\n6.58%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Source: LPL Research, Bloomberg 4\/24\/26 @3:18 p.m. ET
\nDisclosures: Indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested in directly.<\/i><\/p>\n

U.S. and International Equities<\/h2>\n

U.S. Equities:\u00a0<\/b>\u00a0Choppy trading on Wall Street continued for another week as headline noise remained in high supply and earnings season kicked into high gear. The Strait of Hormuz stalemate remained top of mind for investors, keeping a lid on equity markets as\u00a0oil prices rose in response to\u00a0the U.S. Navy\u00a0reportedly\u00a0seizing\u00a0multiple Iranian vessels and tankers over the last five days while\u00a0the peace talk path remained cloudy.\u00a0Nonetheless, on the upside, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posted record gains\u00a0after\u00a0President Trump\u00a0extended\u00a0the ceasefire and\u00a0on\u00a0upbeat artificial intelligence (AI) takeaways around a potential custom chip collaboration between Alphabet (GOOG\/L) and Marvell (MRVL), along with\u00a0Oracle (ORCL) expanding its partnership with the Google-parent company.\u00a0The S&P 500 returned above the weekly unchanged point to end the week on\u00a0renewed\u00a0hopes that Washington and Tehran will return to the negotiating table in\u00a0a potential weekend meeting.<\/p>\n

In earnings, first quarter results across corporate America continue to track a strong beat rate,\u00a0featuring\u00a0strong results for Boeing (BA) after delivering the most aircraft since 2019 last quarter,\u00a0blowout results and guidance from chipmaker Intel Corp. (INTC),\u00a0and better-than-expected earnings from\u00a0UnitedHealth Group (UNH), General Electric (GE), and Northrop Grumman (NOC), to name a few.<\/p>\n

Also among highlights was the first Magnificent Seven report from Tesla (TSLA). The electric vehicle maker topped earnings estimates, but shares dropped on a spending plan hike aimed at supporting\u00a0AI\u00a0and robotics-related ambitions.<\/p>\n

International Equities:\u00a0<\/b>Across the pond,\u00a0prolonged uncertainty in the Middle East and rising crude prices continued to\u00a0weigh on\u00a0European stocks.\u00a0Cyclical pockets of the market underperformed amid developments around naval blockades in the Strait of Hormuz\u00a0and weak economic data points\u00a0\u2014\u00a0dragging travel, automotive, and banking shares to the bottom of the leaderboard as energy names rallied.\u00a0Corporate news was\u00a0also in focus with\u00a0high-profile takeaways around the tech space.\u00a0German software firm SAP posted\u00a0healthy cloud backlog growth, which eased investor worries around\u00a0AI\u00a0disruption, while\u00a0chip equipment maker ASML dropped in response to Taiwan Semiconductor\u00a0stating\u00a0it will hold off on using ASML\u2019s latest chipmaking gear until 2029 to save money.<\/p>\n

Asian markets ended the week mixed with tech-leaning markets outperforming. Taiwan\u00a0outperformed\u00a0on the back of a Friday surge led by Taiwan Semiconductor after regulators eased single-stock fund holding limits, while South Korea also rallied\u00a0on\u00a0broad enthusiasm\u00a0resulting from\u00a0an earnings surge\u00a0by\u00a0chipmaker SK Hynix,\u00a0and strong economic growth results.\u00a0Meanwhile, Hong Kong\u00a0was dragged down by tech shares\u00a0on regulatory driven profit concerns and few directional drivers.\u00a0Mainland China posted a moderate gain, while\u00a0Japan\u2019s tech-heavy Nikkei posted\u00a0a healthy advance\u00a0on support from INTC suppliers\u00a0and technology broadly.<\/p>\n

Fixed Income, Currency, and Commodity Markets<\/h2>\n

Fixed Income: <\/b>Core bonds, measured by the Bloomberg Aggregate\u00a0Index,\u00a0traded\u00a0lower on the week. Since the start of the Iran conflict, the 10-year Treasury yield has risen by more than 35 basis points, down from a peak increase of\u00a0nearly 50\u00a0basis points through March 27. Elevated near-term inflation expectations and the pricing out of Fed rate cut expectations have been the primary drivers of higher yields.\u00a0Interestingly, interest rate volatility (as measured by the MOVE index), after jumping sharply at the onset of the conflict, has fallen back below levels seen before the war began.\u00a0Likewise, the Treasury term premium (the\u00a0additional\u00a0compensation investors require to hold longer-term Treasury securities) is only around its average level over the past year and well below recent highs.<\/p>\n

Falling interest rate volatility combined with a declining Treasury term premium typically signals a market environment characterized by increasing confidence in central bank policy, reduced recession fears, and improved market liquidity.\u00a0Stated differently, this dynamic suggests that investors are requiring less compensation to hold long-term bonds because they perceive lower risks of extreme interest rate fluctuations or unexpected inflation shocks.\u00a0As a result, given the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the depth and duration of the Iran conflict, markets may be underpricing upside risks to the 10-year Treasury yield. We\u00a0remain\u00a0neutral on duration\u00a0relative\u00a0to benchmarks.<\/p>\n

Commodities and Currencies: <\/b>The broader commodities complex\u00a0bounced back from last week\u2019s drop with a strong gain over the last five days. Focus was little changed as oil prices remained in the spotlight.\u00a0West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude\u00a0each rose well over 10%\u00a0as the U.S. and Iran\u00a0maintained\u00a0blockades of the Strait of Hormuz, restricting crude exports and extending a historic energy supply shock.\u00a0Uncertainties around U.S.-Iran negotiations and\u00a0volatile\u00a0rhetoric from both sides continued to support prices,\u00a0with late-week reports of potential talks over the weekend doing little to ease upward\u00a0pressure.\u00a0Gasoline\u00a0futures also surged this week, nearing four-year highs. Elsewhere, gold prices turned lower\u00a0as a lack of concrete progress in the Mideast keeps inflation and global rate hike worries on the table.\u00a0In currencies, the U.S. dollar strengthened as optimism of a near-term deal outweighed fears of a prolonged conflict and energy disruptions, while the yen and euro weakened against the greenback.<\/p>\n

Economic Weekly Roundup<\/h2>\n

Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair nominee Kevin Warsh\u2019s confirmation hearing\u00a0before the Senate Banking Committee\u00a0on Tuesday\u00a0was among\u00a0the\u00a0economic highlights this week. Among the key takeaways was his\u00a0vow to remain independent and potentially restructure the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).\u00a0Plus, despite\u00a0displaying his\u00a0dislike for forward guidance, Warsh effectively offered\u00a0forward guidance himself by arguing that AI-driven productivity could give the economy a boost to growth without inflation pressures.\u00a0He clearly signaled future policy decisions based on a specific reason which is, by definition, forward guidance.\u00a0Kevin Warsh\u2019s confirmation hearing comes at a moment when U.S. monetary policy is already notably restrictive\u00a0relative\u00a0to most other advanced economies, sharpening the political and market sensitivity around the Federal Reserve\u2019s (Fed) next steps.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead at international markets, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) is expected to keep its policy rate unchanged at around 0.75% at the April 27\u201328 meeting, marking a\u00a0likely third\u00a0consecutive pause, as it assesses the economic impact of higher oil prices despite still\u00a0accommodative real interest rates. The BOJ is expected to raise its 2026 fiscal year inflation forecast in the forthcoming Outlook Report, but policymakers\u00a0remain\u00a0cautious given volatile crude oil prices, Middle East geopolitical risks, and concerns about potential stagflation.<\/p>\n

The Week Ahead<\/h2>\n

The following economic data is slated for the week\u00a0ahead:<\/p>\n