Good morning!

Last week stocks posted solid gains as trade tensions eased, with the S&P 500 rising 2.9% and the Dow Jones up 3%, while the Fed kept interest rates unchanged. Here's what's happening this week...

• More than 1,000 companies report Q1 earnings this week, including some heavy-hitting retailers affected by recent tariffs from the Trump administration (I'm looking at you Walmart). This morning, numbers are due from Sony, Sea Limited, JD.com, Alcon, and Tencent Music, followed Wednesday by Cisco Systems, Haleon, Nextracker, and Orix. Thursday reports include Walmart, Chinese retail giant Alibaba, Deere & Company, Applied Materials, and Netease, followed by a quiet Friday. *

• Of course, the markets were going to soar at any news of a truce in the U.S.-China tariff war, and that's exactly what they did yesterday, after the Trump administration announced a 90-day truce. The Dow saw a rise of 1,000 points, wiping out losses from the advent of "Liberation Day" on April 2. The two countries agreed over the weekend to drop import duties by 115% on both sides. The move will drop American tariffs on Chinese goods, which currently run as high as 145%, to 30% and slash China's retaliatory duties from 125% to 10%. **

• April’s CPI (Consumer Price Index) numbers are hot off the press this morning, and indicate that inflation pressures eased a bit over the past year, even as some of President Trump’s tariffs started kicking in. According to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, consumer prices were up 2.3% compared to last year, down from March’s 2.4% and slightly below what economists had predicted. That makes it the smallest annual increase since February 2021, right before inflation surged and the Federal Reserve started hiking interest rates. On a month-to-month basis, prices rose 0.2% in April, less than the 0.3% economists expected. In March, prices actually dipped 0.1% by comparison. As for core inflation — which excludes the more unpredictable costs of food and gas—prices were up 0.2% for the month, a step up from March’s 0.1% gain but still below forecasts of 0.3%. Over the past year, core prices increased 2.8%, the same as the previous month. ***

The financial advisors at Miramontes Capital diligently keep up with anything that can impact our clients' finances and tap into more than 175 years of combined investment experience. We do our all to keep your money protected and growing. If you think you might benefit from our financial experience and oversight, contact us today for a FREE, no-obligation consultation. Just call (800) 460-1595. Until next week...

Investment Advisory Services offered through Miramontes Capital, LLC. Securities offered through Balanced Security Planning, Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC. Miramontes Capital, LLC and Balanced Security Planning, Inc. are separate companies affiliated through common control. This newsletter is solely for informational purposes. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Miramontes Capital, LLC and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns. Investing involves risk and possible loss of principal capital. No advice may be rendered by Miramontes Capital, LLC unless a client service agreement is in place.