S&P futures are little changed Friday morning after Thursday’s mostly lower session. The market remains caught between a desire to move past the Iran conflict and growing concern that Strait of Hormuz tensions and rising oil may still pose a supply-shock risk. Crude is up again, marking a fifth straight gain, while Treasuries are roughly flat, the dollar is steady, and precious metals and Bitcoin are slightly lower.
The broader macro backdrop remains reasonably constructive. This week’s data generally supported the solid growth / resilient consumer narrative, and the heavy earnings calendar has pushed Q1 aggregate metrics higher. Key corporate themes continue to center on AI demand, infrastructure buildout, and consumer resilience. At the same time, the tone around market internals has become a bit less supportive, with mechanical flow tailwinds fading and month-end positioning now seen as more of a potential headwind than a tailwind.
There was little incremental geopolitical news overnight, though the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire was extended three weeks. On the policy side, attention today turns to final University of Michigan sentiment and inflation expectations, with consensus looking for a modest sentiment improvement and steady long-term inflation expectations. Looking ahead, next week brings a heavy macro calendar, including Conference Board confidence, durable goods, housing starts, PCE, ISM manufacturing, and the April FOMC decision.
Company Highlights
- INTC: Strong Q1 results and better Q2 guidance, helped by AI-related CPU demand and improving 18A yields
- SAP: Results came in better than feared, with positive takeaways around 25% cloud growth
- BKR: Beat, with strength in OFSE and record IET orders and backlog
- FIX: Delivered a major beat and highlighted strong bookings and pipeline trends
- DLR: Beat and raised, though expectations were already elevated
- EW: Beat and raised, with strong TAVR acceleration and mitral/tricuspid therapy growth
- HIG: Missed on higher catastrophe losses and weaker reserve development
- VRSN: Lagged despite favorable domain trends
- BYD: Pressured after missing in Las Vegas-related segments
- MXL: Moved higher as improving April trends outweighed merely in-line Q2 guidance
- META / MSFT / NKE: Layoff headlines remain in focus, reinforcing the broader corporate efficiency theme
U.S. equities finished lower Thursday, with the Dow -0.36%, the S&P 500 -0.41%, the Nasdaq -0.89%, and the Russell 2000 -0.37%, as stocks closed near session lows. Treasury yields moved higher, with the curve flattening modestly as the 2-year rose 3 bp and the 10-year added 2 bp. The dollar strengthened 0.2%, gold fell 0.6%, silver dropped 3.2%, Bitcoin futures finished lower, and WTI crude rose 3.1%, ending near the highs of the session.
The main macro pressure point remained the Middle East. Latest skepticism around U.S.-Iran peace talks and the broader de-escalation path weighed on risk appetite, while higher oil pushed the VIX back above 20 earlier in the day. Headline noise remained elevated, including internal Iranian political instability, new threats around the Strait of Hormuz, mine deployment concerns, and attacks on regional shipping. Even so, the market still appears anchored to the view that the ultimate path points toward a ceasefire, which helped prevent a more disorderly risk-off move.
Outside geopolitics, the macro data remained constructive. Initial jobless claims came in at 214K, slightly above consensus but still consistent with a stable labor market, while the flash April PMI composite rose to 51.3, ahead of expectations. Manufacturing was particularly strong at 54.0, with the release citing the strongest influx of new orders since May 2022, while services also topped forecasts despite some cooling in demand growth. The session also reflected a more challenging technical setup after the recent rally to new highs, with signs that CTA demand is decelerating, breadth remains narrow, and month-end pension selling could become a swing factor.
Earnings remained a key support for the broader market narrative. The S&P 500’s blended Q1 earnings growth rate moved above 14.5%, more than 32% of reporters beat expectations, and earnings surprises were positive by roughly 13% in aggregate. Still, price action remained selective, and investors continued to parse company-specific guidance, capex intensity, software momentum, and private credit concerns.
Sector Highlights
Sector performance reflected a clear shift away from the prior growth-led leadership and toward more defensive and cyclical areas. Utilities (+2.80%), Industrials (+1.75%), Consumer Staples (+1.74%), Real Estate (+1.28%), and Energy (+0.76%) were the session’s best performers. By contrast, the weakest groups were Technology (-1.47%), Consumer Discretionary (-0.93%), and Financials (-0.79%), while Communication Services, Materials, and Health Care also ended lower. The pattern underscored a more defensive tone beneath the surface, with investors rotating away from high-multiple growth after the recent run and toward rate-sensitive defensives, select cyclicals, and inflation-linked groups.
Information Technology
- TXN +19.4%: Q1 revenue and EPS beat, with strength in data center and industrial demand, gross margins well ahead of expectations, and Q2 guidance well above consensus
- IBM -8.3%: Beat on Q1 results, but investors focused on only reiterated full-year guidance and in-line software growth
- NOW -17.8%: Pressured by Middle East-driven on-premise deal slippage, muted cRPO upside, and only reiterated organic growth guidance
- WST +12.7%: Strong Q1 beat with margin upside, solid GLP-1 and non-GLP-1 growth, better Q2 guide, and raised full-year outlook
- SMCI -8.3%: Fell on a research report suggesting the company may have lost a significant Oracle contract and is carrying excess GPU inventory
Communication Services
- CMCSA +7.7%: Q1 earnings, revenue, and free cash flow beat, with better broadband, wireless, and content trends
- NFLX: Announced an additional $25B share repurchase authorization
Consumer Discretionary
- URI +22.9%: Q1 EBITDA beat, rental revenue and margins were strong, and full-year guidance was raised
- PENN +16.9%: Revenue and earnings beat, with strong performance in core regional operations
- AAL +2.4%: Q1 loss came in better than feared, supported by stronger revenue and loyalty performance
- LULU -13.3%: Fell after naming former Nike executive Heidi O’Neill as CEO, with some concern around the delayed start date
- LVS -8.6%: Beat on Q1 EBITDA and revenue, but investors focused on expected margin pressure in Macao through 2026
- HAS +6.6%: Preliminary Q1 revenue came in well ahead of expectations, with management reiterating full-year guidance
Consumer Staples
- KDP +7.5%: Q1 earnings and revenue beat, helped by both pricing and volume/mix strength, while full-year guidance was reaffirmed
Health Care
- MOH +14.2%: EPS beat on better medical cost trends in Medicaid, while 2026 guidance was maintained
- MEDP -22.6%: Results beat but backlog came in light, with investors focused on decelerating bookings and book-to-bill
- TMO -9.2%: Beat on earnings and revenue, but organic growth missed and demand in government, academic, and diagnostics markets remained soft
- WST +12.7%: Also a notable health care winner on strong packaging and GLP-1-related demand
Financials
- AXP -4.3%: Beat on earnings and revenue, but investors focused on expense growth and some deterioration in SMB credit metrics
- BKU -1.6%: Earnings missed with weaker NII, NIM, fee income, and softer loan and deposit growth
Industrials
- UNP +8.8%: Q1 EPS beat, operating ratio improved, and full-year outlook was reaffirmed
- CSX +7.0%: Earnings beat and full-year revenue growth guidance was raised on better volumes and cost discipline
- DOV +5.5%: Slight beat on revenue and EPS, strong bookings growth, and reaffirmed full-year guidance
- WCN +7.9%: Revenue and EBITDA beat, with margin expansion, improving recycling prices, and positive M&A commentary
- LMT -4.6%: Revenue, cash flow, and EPS missed, while the quarter was hurt by lower classified work and F-16 adjustments
- HON -2.6%: Earnings beat but revenue missed, with Aerospace Technologies a softer spot despite reaffirmed guidance
- GGG -3.9%: Revenue, EPS, and gross margin missed, with housing-market weakness still a drag
- MBLY +10.1%: Revenue and EPS beat on stronger EyeQ volume demand, and the company raised full-year guidance and announced a buyback
- OKLO +5.6%: Announced a collaboration with NVDA and Los Alamos on nuclear fuel validation
Eco Data Releases | Friday April 24th, 2026
S&P 500 Constituent Earnings Announcements | Friday April 24th, 2026
Data sourced from FactSet Research Systems Inc.
