S&P 500 Tops 7,000; Nasdaq Logs 13-Session Streak
SkimNews Take
Current market strength, driven by external geopolitical calm and the anticipation of earnings, suggests a fragile equilibrium where future volatility could quickly emerge from either factor.
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- S&P 500 and Nasdaq notched all-time-high closes Wednesday — the S&P 500's first since Jan. 27 and the Nasdaq's first since Oct. 29 — with the benchmark closing above 7,000 for the first time
- Since bottoming on March 30, the S&P 500 has rallied 12% to recover the 9% drop from its January peak triggered by the start of the U.S.-Iran war
- Bespoke Investment Group found no prior 5%-to-10% S&P 500 pullback since 1928 had rebounded to all-time highs in just 11 trading sessions, with Deutsche Bank's Jim Reid calling the velocity "nothing short of astonishing"
- The Nasdaq closed Friday with a 13th straight session of gains, its longest streak since 1992
- Heavy earnings ahead include Tesla (first of the "Magnificent Seven" megacaps to report), Boeing, Intel, and P&G, with S&P 500 Q1 earnings expected to rise roughly 14% year-over-year per LSEG IBES
- Kevin Warsh, President Trump's pick for Fed chair, faces a congressional hearing Tuesday as markets have virtually ruled out 2026 rate cuts amid war-driven inflation risks
- Boston Partners' Michael Mullaney warned the market is "treating what has happened over the last six weeks as if it has just woken up from a bad dream," citing U.S. crude near $85/barrel (vs. $67 pre-war) and gas hitting $4 a gallon
Why it matters: With rate cuts virtually ruled out for 2026 and oil/gas prices still elevated, the historically unprecedented speed of the S&P 500's 11-session rebound leaves thin margin for error if this week's megacap earnings — Tesla first among them — fail to confirm the roughly 14% Q1 earnings growth that bulls are banking on.
