Markets surged to close out the week as Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz open to commercial vessels, sending oil below $87 a barrel and unwinding the war premium that had gripped markets for weeks. The tech sector led the rally, with Intel hitting its highest level since the dot-com era and AMD reaching all-time highs on surging agentic AI demand, while Netflix bucked the trend, tumbling 10% on a disappointing revenue forecast and the announced departure of co-founder Reed Hastings.

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Earnings season continued to impress, with TSMC and ASML both beating estimates and raising forecasts on surging AI demand, while Charles Schwab, PepsiCo and Abbott Labs also topped expectations. Markets edged higher on news of an Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, though March industrial production fell a surprising 0.5% as conflict-driven energy costs continued to weigh on the broader economy.

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Bank earnings remained the dominant story, with Bank of America and Morgan Stanley both crushing profit expectations on record trading revenues and surging deal-making fees, capping a broadly strong quarter for the major banks. Markets were mixed as peace talk optimism kept oil near three-week lows, while Robinhood surged 5% on a landmark SEC rule change eliminating the $25,000 minimum balance requirement for day traders.

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Markets rallied on hopes of resumed peace talks, even as the IEA warned of the largest oil supply disruption in history and the IMF flagged global recession risks. Q1 earnings season showed broad strength with JPMorgan, Citigroup and BlackRock all beating expectations, while Amazon made a major strategic move acquiring satellite firm Globalstar for $11.57 billion to take on Starlink.

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Markets edged higher despite a major Middle East escalation, as the US blockaded the Strait of Hormuz and sent oil back above $100 a barrel. Q1 earnings season opened with Goldman Sachs beating profit expectations on record deal-making, while Meta was flagged as set to overtake Google as the world's largest digital advertising business for the first time.

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A critical week ahead as Q1 earnings season kicks off with the big banks reporting Monday and Tuesday, giving investors their first real read on how corporate America is navigating soaring oil prices and geopolitical uncertainty. The PPI inflation report on Tuesday and results from Netflix, ASML, and TSMC will round out a week that will either validate or challenge last week's ceasefire-fueled rally.

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A volatile week driven entirely by the US-Iran conflict saw oil prices swing wildly before settling into fragile uncertainty, yet Wall Street posted its best weekly gain since November with the Nasdaq up over 4.5%. March CPI spiked to 3.3% on soaring gas prices, putting the Fed in a tough spot, while Anthropic's powerful new AI model "Mythos" dominated tech headlines and major deals in media and music signaled dealmaking remains alive and well.

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Markets opened cautiously lower Friday as the Strait of Hormuz remained restricted despite the ceasefire, keeping oil prices elevated and stagflation fears alive ahead of the March CPI report. Intel was the standout corporate story, surging 50% over seven trading days on a wave of positive catalysts, while private credit stress continued to build with major funds at Carlyle, BlackRock, and Morgan Stanley all facing elevated redemption requests.

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