Investors Focus on Earnings as Hormuz Is Both “Open and Closed”

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at fresh record highs on Friday, buoyed by Intel’s 23.7% surge and renewed hopes for US–Iran peace talks, but the weekend brought a sharp reversal in diplomacy as Trump cancelled his envoys’ trip to Pakistan and peace negotiations stalled. The S&P 500 gained 0.8% to 7,165.08, the Nasdaq rose 1.6% to 24,836.60, and the SOX semiconductor index extended its record winning streak to 18 sessions. Brent crude settled at $106.15 as fewer than five ships crossed Hormuz in the past 24 hours against a pre-war daily average of roughly 130. A monster week lies ahead — Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and Apple all report, the Fed meets in what may be Jerome Powell’s last outing as chair, and Q1 GDP and PCE inflation data are due.