US Stocks Mixed as Bank Earnings Lift S&P 500
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- Bank of America shares rose 1.6% and Morgan Stanley climbed 4.4% after both reported jumps in first-quarter profit, pushing the S&P 500 financial index up 0.4% and signaling that banks see US consumers as financially healthy.
- At 09:57 a.m. ET, the S&P 500 gained 0.11% to 6,974.91 and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.42% to 23,739.18, while the Dow fell 0.22% to 48,427.77 — both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have now fully recouped all their losses since the war began and are nearing their first intraday record high since the conflict erupted.
- The CBOE volatility index (Wall Street's fear gauge) dropped 0.68 point to 17.68, reflecting what B. Riley's Art Hogan called cautious optimism that peace talks with Iran could materialize.
- The International Monetary Fund cut its global growth outlook on Tuesday, warning that an extended conflict could push the world to the brink of recession, with oil prices remaining steady but 31% above pre-war levels.
- Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack said she sees no imminent need to change interest-rate targets but noted that both cuts and hikes are possible depending on incoming data.
- Broadcom advanced 3.6% after Meta extended its custom chips deal, Snap rose nearly 7% on news it would lay off about 1,000 employees, and Allbirds surged more than fourfold after announcing a pivot to AI infrastructure.
- Despite the headline indices' gains, seven of 11 S&P 500 sector indexes posted losses — materials dropped 1.2% and consumer staples fell 0.9% — while the S&P 500 information technology index rose 0.8% on continued software stock momentum.
Why it matters: The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have fully recovered their war-driven losses, and bank earnings from BofA and Morgan Stanley confirm US consumer health is holding up — but seven of 11 S&P sectors still posted losses even as tech rallied, and the IMF just warned of recession risk if the conflict drags on. The 31% oil premium above pre-war levels is the live tension: equities are pricing in peace, the IMF is pricing in a global slowdown, and Fed officials remain split on whether rate cuts or hikes come next.
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