Stocks ended the best month since 2020 last Thursday. The S&P 500 jumped 9.64%, while the Nasdaq Composite Index (Nasdaq) spiked 13.97% in April.
The S&P 500 rose to a fresh all-time intraday high on Friday, boosted by great earnings, while oil prices fell as a new month of trading got underway.
Last week’s large economic load began with an unexpected rise in April’s consumer confidence.
Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) data showed that inflation picked up month-over-month (M/M) in March, while personal income and personal spending both rose.
The advanced print of Q1 gross domestic product (GDP) showed economic growth accelerated from the prior quarter’s subdued pace.
March durable goods orders posted a promising increase alongside a surge in housing starts.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) April policy meeting kept rates flat, while Jerome Powell announced his plan to stay on as a governor.
With over half of the companies in the S&P 500 reporting, first-quarter (Q1) earnings growth has more than doubled expectations. The benchmark index is up 5.6% for the year, closing above the 7,200 threshold for the first time ever.
The Nasdaq nailed down another record close Friday by rising 0.9%. This helped it log a weekly gain of 1.1%. It has risen in each of the past five weeks and is now up 8.1% in 2026.
The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.37%.
Oil prices backed off from weekly highs, with West Texas Intermediate futures closing the week at $102.50 per barrel.
The S&P 500 is now more than 6% above its 50-day line and the Nasdaq, nearly 10% above it. The risks of a pullback are rising, nevertheless, according to Investors Business Daily, we are in the early stages of a Powertrend, so investors should give winners room to run.
A number of noteworthy economic reports are due to drop, with employment the dominating theme. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey will arrive Tuesday and the ADP National Employment Report comes Wednesday. However, the key release is Friday’s all-important U.S. jobs report for April.
Earnings season continues this week with a number of noteworthy firms set to deliver results. These include reports from Arista Networks (ANET), Lumentum (LITE), Coherent (COHR), Applovin Corp. (APP), On Semiconductor (ON), Palantir Technologies (PLTR), AMD (AMD) and Shopify (SHOP).
If you press Looking Ahead below, you will find research from Wells Fargo Investment Institute. Below are excerpts from that.
Week in review: April 27 to May 1
Economic news
- The advanced estimate of Q1 GDP showed a 2.0% annualized increase, following last fall’s government shutdown.
- Growth was driven by a significant increase in government spending and artificial intelligence (AI) investments.
- The March PCE deflator showed an as-expected 0.7% increase coupled with positive consumer data.
- Personal spending in March rose 0.9% M/M, primarily driven by stronger spending on gasoline and energy goods. Personal income rose 0.6% M/M, the largest gain since July 2025.
- April‘s Conference Board consumer confidence rose to 92.8 despite uncertainty around soaring energy prices.
- Consumers’ expectations for the future have increased in the past two months, reaching 72.2 in April, with anticipation for gains in the labor market and income.
- During April‘s FOMC meeting and Jerome Powell‘s final remarks as the official chairman, members held the federal funds target rate at 3.50% – 3.75% for the third consecutive meeting. Treasury yields and the U.S. dollar remained elevated, keeping expectations of a tight policy high.
- Durable goods preliminarily rose 0.8% M/M in March, rebounding from the prior 1.2% decline in February. Core capital goods orders rose 3.3% M/M and core shipments rose 1.2% M/M.
- Strong drivers of last month increases, were due to a surge in computer, machinery, and electric product orders, aligning with the strong momentum of AI products.
- March housing starts rose to an annualized 1.5 million, the highest since December 2024. Single-family home starts increased by 9.7% M/M, a 13-month high, while multi-family starts surged 9.6% M/M.
- Building permits for March fell to an annualized 1.37 million, its lowest level since August 2025.
- Residential construction may be stabilizing, despite ongoing affordability with material costs and higher mortgage rates due to the Middle East conflict.
Looking Ahead to this week, May 4-8
U.S.
- The focus early in the week will be on the Institute for Supply Management’s April services PMI on Tuesday, before attention shifts to Friday’s April jobs report and preliminary May consumer sentiment and inflation expectations survey from the University of Michigan. Other labor market updates include the April ADP survey of private employment and Challenger job cuts report, along with the March Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) and preliminary Q1 non-farm productivity and unit labor costs.
- Also on tap: March’s factory orders, trade balance, consumer credit, wholesale trade sales, and finalized building permits, in addition to both February and March data on new home sales and construction spending.
- Investors should also be on the lookout for Q1 earnings with more than 25% of companies reporting.
Asia
- In China, the focus will be on April‘s trade balance, foreign reserves, and private services PMI.
- From Japan, monetary base and finalized services PMI, along with March labor cash earnings.
- The Reserve Bank of Australia meeting early in the week will accompany Australia’s March trade balance, household spending, building approvals, and finalized services PMI, in addition to a measure of April inflation.
- South Korea April manufacturing PM Consumer Price Index (CPI), and foreign reserves hit the tape.
Europe
- In Europe will be the Euros zones, March producer, price index and retail sales, along with finalized April PMI reading
- From France, watch for preliminary Q1 wages and March’s industrial production, trade balance, and budget balance, while German economic releases include March’s factory orders, and trade balance.
- Also be on the lookout for the U.K.’s April official reserves changes and new car registrations.
