Weekly Market Bullets

for the week ending 4/17/2026

• US Equity Markets rallied again last week to new all-time highs, initially on hopes for, then the actual news of the re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz. The S&P 500 rose 4.5% for the week and is now up 4.1% for the year. The Nasdaq surged 6.8% for the week to bring it into positive territory for the year, now up 5.3%, while the Russell 2000 (small cap stocks) rallied 5.6% for the week and is now up 11.9% for the year.

• Global Equity Markets posted strong gains last week as well in anticipation of a settlement of the fighting in the Middle East. Developed Markets rose 2.3% for the week and are now up 7.6% for the year. Emerging Markets were up 3.2% for the week to bring its gains for the year to 13.7%.

• Interest Rates dropped last week on the increasing belief that the recent rise in inflation will dissipate as energy prices drop. Oil prices declined sharply last week, down over 12%, on developments with Iran, raising hopes that tamer inflation data will emerge. As a result, interest rates declined with the yield on the US 10-Year Treasury closing the week at 4.25% vs. 4.34% the prior week. While investors are still not pricing in a Fed rate cut, there are increasing hopes that the Fed may now be able to cut interest rates at some point later this year.

• The return to all-time highs occurred faster than any other point in history. The S&P 500 was near correction territory, down over 9%, less than two weeks ago. The rally to new record highs occurred in just 11 trading days, the fastest in history. The previous record from such a decline was 16 days, which occurred back in 1997.

Market Data

for the week ending 4/17/2026