Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq rise amid Iran deal hopes, earnings rush

Big Tech is taking over again.

The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) is working on its 10th straight win, up another 1% in early trading. But the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (MAGS) is doing even better, up nearly 2%.

That leadership is also showing up at the sector level. The three sectors that house the Magnificent Seven — tech (XLK), consumer discretionary (XLY), and communication services (XLC) — are leading the large-cap leaderboard.

At the other end, energy (XLE) and consumer staples (XLP) are lagging. XLE is now down nearly 10% over the last 10 trading days since the March 30 low, while XLP is the only other sector in the red over that stretch, down 1%.

Bank earnings are rewarding the fee machines and punishing the spread lenders.

Trading and dealmaking are holding up, but investors are still punishing any sign of pressure on net interest margin and net interest income. JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC) are both trading lower as that pressure becomes the focus, even though JPM’s quarter was otherwise strong. Citigroup (C), meanwhile, is moving higher after beating on bond trading, equities, and overall revenue.

The individual stock moves fit that pattern. Bank of America (BAC) is also lower, while Wells is taking the biggest hit after missing on net interest income and showing a narrower margin. Citi stands out as the clearest winner of the group, with a broader beat that the market is rewarding.

So the early read from big bank earnings is simple: Markets businesses are still helping carry the results, but for the lenders, spread income is still the line investors care about most.

Even so, the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) is still up nearly 7% from the March 30 low — a solid rebound, but only middle of the pack among large-cap sectors.

Oracle (ORCL) stock surged by roughly 8% Tuesday morning on news that the data center and cloud operator has signed a deal to purchase as much as 2.8 gigawatts of fuel cell power from the energy provider Bloom Energy (BE).

Bloom stock surged 15% on Tuesday morning.

The terms of the agreement expand on an existing partnership between Larry Ellison’s Oracle and Bloom. 1.2 gigawatts of fuel cell power capacity is already under contract, with deployment “underway and continuing into next year,” Bloom said in a press release.

Bloom’s modular fuel cell system can be “deployed far faster than traditional power solutions, enabling customers to accelerate time‑to‑power and reduce project risk,” Bloom said, citing delivery of a fuel cell system to Oracle in 55 days last year.

The fuel cells will provide on-site power generation to the data centers and other infrastructure underpinning Oracle’s AI ambitions, Bloom said in the press release.

“We are delighted to expand our relationship with Oracle following an initial successful deployment,” Aman Joshi, chief commercial officer at Bloom Energy, was quoted as saying in the press release. “Together, we are defining a shared vision for the future of energy and AI infrastructure, with Bloom advancing its position as the standard for onsite power.”

US stocks turned positive on Tuesday while oil prices pulled back as investors digested news that talks between the US and Iran may resume as soon as this week.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) picked up 0.9%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI), which includes fewer tech names, rose a slimmer 0.1%.

At the same time, oil prices fell as investors awaited updates on the Strait of Hormuz. Futures on US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) crude fell 3.6% to trade below $96 per barrel, while those on international benchmark Brent (BZ=F) crude fell 2% to trade around $97.20

US producer prices rose more slowly than expected in March, rising 0.5% in March over the previous month, below economists’ expectations for an increase of 1.1% on the month, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) reported a 13% rise in profits as CEO Jamie Dimon acknowledged the economy is facing an “increasingly complex set of risks.” BlackRock (BLK), Wells Fargo (WFC), and Citigroup (C) also reported beats on earnings.

US producer prices rose less than expected in March, according to data released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, marking a turnaround from February’s overheated reading.

Prices rose 0.5% in March over the previous month, in line with February’s revised gain of 0.5% and less than economists’ expectations for an increase of 1.1% on the month.

Excluding the more volatile food and energy costs, producer prices advanced by 0.1% over the previous month, falling below the 0.4% growth economists had predicted and the previous month’s revised gain of 0.3%.

On a year-over-year basis, headline prices rose by 4% in March, below estimates of 4.6% yet above the previous month’s 3.4% year-over-year increase. Excluding food and energy, prices rose 3.8% year over year, cooler than estimates of 4.1% and in line with the previous month’s 3.8% revised gain.

Nearly half of the price gains in March for final demand goods can be attributed to a 15.7% month-over-month jump in gasoline prices, the BLS said Tuesday, with increases in diesel, jet fuel, and home heating oil as well.

At the macro level, final demand prices for energy roses 8.5% on the month, the BLS said.

The BLS also noted that within final demand services for the month, prices for airline passenger services rose 2.8%.

As the war in Iran rolls into its seventh week, markets are still putting more weight on impacts to inflation than a potential growth shock down the road, Goldman Sachs economists wrote in a client note on Tuesday.

Since the war began, yields have increased across all G10 economies, with six of those governments now expected to raise rates in 2026, up from three prior to the outbreak of conflict, economists George Cole and William Marshall wrote.

Only the US Federal Reserve is expected to cut rates this year, though the timeline for a cut has been pushed out, the economists said.

“Despite the potential for commodity price spikes to lead to weaker growth, this energy price shock has led to higher rates and hawkish forecast revisions for many central banks,” Cole and Marshall wrote.

The temporary ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran has reduced the risk of a sudden inflationary shock, the economists noted — though the perception of lower risks “leaves financial conditions looser and growth risks lower.”

That said, Cole and Marshall wrote, the economic risks of the conflict remain skewed toward higher inflation.

“So far the inflationary aspects of the commodity price shock have dominated growth concerns,” Cole and Marshall wrote. “Unless the market sees forward growth prospects deteriorate sharply, this repricing is likely to remain somewhat sticky even as front-end yields sit higher than most of our baseline forecasts for central bank paths.”

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon said the US economy is facing “significant” risks, even as the bank reported a 13% rise in profits in the first quarter.

“The US economy remained resilient in the quarter, with consumers still earning and spending and businesses still healthy. Several tailwinds are supporting this resiliency, including increased fiscal stimulus, the benefits of deregulation, AI-driven capital investment and the Fed’s asset purchases,” Dimon said.

“At the same time, there is an increasingly complex set of risks,” he added, “such as geopolitical tensions and wars, energy price volatility, trade uncertainty, large global fiscal deficits and elevated asset prices. While we cannot predict how these risks and uncertainties will ultimately play out, they are significant and they reinforce why we prepare the Firm for a wide range of environments.”

Yahoo Finance’s David Hollerith reports the bank’s earnings:

Read more here.

Globalstar (GSAT) shares jumped over 13% before the bell, boosted by reports that Amazon (AMZN) is closing in on a purchase of the satellite provider.

A deal would position Amazon to take on Elon Musk’s Starlink, seen as an important piece of the highly anticipated SpaceX (SPAX.PVT) IPO.

From Bloomberg:

Read more here.

Novo Nordisk (NVO) said on Tuesday it ‌is partnering with OpenAI (OPAI.PVT) to deploy artificial intelligence across its business, from drug discovery ‌to manufacturing and commercial operations.

Shares of the Danish drugmaker rose 2.6% in premarket trading, as investors weighed prospects for Novo, which has fallen behind Eli Lilly in the immensely lucrative weight-loss drug market.

Reuters reports:

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Chinese stocks have pulled back after a bolstered rise against global downturn driven by the Iran war.

Bloomberg reports:

Read more here.

Bloomberg reports:

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