LPL Research
Last Updated: April 17, 2026

LPL Research provides its Weekly Market Performance for the week of April 13, 2026. Markets posted a strong weekly advance as easing geopolitical tensions, solid earnings reports, and better-than-expected inflation signals fueled a risk-on tone. U.S. equities notched record highs on optimism around Middle East ceasefire developments and abating energy supply concerns, alongside upbeat artificial intelligence (AI) related takeaways. International equities were boosted by the same dynamics, broadly, while Treasury yields fell alongside crude oil prices. Commodities were mixed, with oil prices weighing on benchmarks for the complex, while gold gained ground.

Stock Index Performance

S&P 500 Index Sectors

Fixed Income and Commodities

Source: LPL Research, Bloomberg 4/17/26 @3:13 p.m. ET
Disclosures: Indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested in directly.

U.S. and International Equities

U.S. Equities: Contrary to the popular saying, good things came in threes this week as the S&P 500 put together three straight record highs on its way to a third straight weekly 3%+ weekly advance, broadly on the back of upbeat geopolitical takeaways. Stocks quickly shrugged off U.S.-Iran talks over the weekend that failed to yield a resolution, running with a positive spin on Monday’s developments around Washington seeking a second round of negotiations. Reports of both sides mulling a ceasefire extension helped the equity benchmark punch back through the 7,000-point mark before the White House and Tehran agreed in-principle to extend the temporary truce and Israel and Lebanon secured a ceasefire agreement. Both agreements drove equities to build on gains before accelerating Friday after Iran reportedly made key concessions around giving up its enriched uranium stockpile and “fully reopening” the Strait of Hormuz for the duration of the ceasefire.

Market chatter also continued to surround positive positioning and flow dynamics, while cooler-than-expected wholesale inflation results were also among constructive talking points. Meanwhile, earnings season kicked off with America’s largest financial institutions delivering first quarter results over the last five days. Among those besting Wall Street’s earnings forecasts were JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC), Bank of America (BAC), Citi (C), and PNC (PNC), with key takeaways around strong loan growth and improving credit quality. Mostly higher big tech and index heavyweights were supportive amid bright artificial intelligence (AI) headlines, while a big bounce in recently beaten down software names also helped propel the tech sector to the top of the weekly leaderboard.

International Equities: European markets also traded with U.S.-Iran geopolitics on center stage for the STOXX 600’s weekly advance. The upbeat takeaways around the Persian Gulf easily overshadowed the region’s own earnings season kick off with investors sniffing for signals of how the Iran conflict may affect estimates and commentary. Luxury names led off reports with Paris-based luxury conglomerate LVMH missing revenue expectations while fellow French luxury designer Hermes offered weak first quarter sales. Elsewhere, a beat and raise from Dutch chip equipment maker ASML failed to excite investors. Outside of earnings, U.K. shares lagged to end the week on political uncertainty surrounding Prime Minister Starmer potentially misleading Parliament in a 2024 U.S. ambassador appointment.

The Asia-Pacific region also gained ground, with tech enthusiasm driving gains for outperformers. South Korea added over 5.5%, boosted by positive AI takeaways from around the globe, as well as macro data revealing a jump in April exports thanks to semiconductors. Taiwan outperformed with some support from Taiwan Semiconductor earnings takeaways, while Japan’s tech-heavy Nikkei outpaced the Topix, with the latter still facing a headwind from exporter names and chatter around yen levels before later week currency strength. In greater China, news of fresh AI models and quantum computing headlines aided risk appetite, alongside better-than-expected first quarter economic growth.

Fixed Income, Currency, and Commodity Markets

Fixed Income: Core bonds, measured by the Bloomberg Aggregate Index, traded higher this week on upbeat geopolitical takeaways and Friday’s slide in crude oil prices, sending Treasury yields lower. Falling Treasury yields also placed corporate credit markets into focus as after widening to their highest levels since last April, spreads across both investment grade (IG) and high yield (HY) markets have retraced meaningfully, returning to more compressed levels as volatility has subsided. The combination of tighter spreads and the recent decline in Treasury yields has reduced all-in borrowing costs for issuers — particularly for higher-quality IG borrowers — prompting a wave of issuance that had been deferred after the Iran conflict temporarily sidelined primary market activity. For the week of April 6, gross issuance was roughly 20% higher than last year’s already elevated pace and despite the heavy supply calendar, investor demand has remained robust and new deals were oversubscribed.

Within this supply surge, issuance from so-called AI hyperscalers has been particularly notable. Of the $673 billion issued year to date, roughly $93 billion has come from this cohort as they continue to fund large-scale capital expenditures related to data centers, cloud infrastructure, and AI compute. Hyperscalers  growing presence, especially in longer-dated maturities, has materially increased their weight in high-quality long-end indexes, rising from approximately 12% in 1H25 to roughly 14% currently. At the issuer level, spreads have widened for tech companies. Although macro-driven risk events have played a role, the sustained wave of supply since last September has been a key technical driver.

Taken together, the backdrop remains one of strong demand absorbing elevated supply, but issuer-specific technicals — particularly among large, frequent hyperscaler borrowers — are increasingly shaping relative spread performance across the corporate credit landscape.

Commodities and Currencies: The broader commodities complex retreated Friday, reversing week-to-date gains on volatile crude prices. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil succumbed to downside pressure amid a steady stream of de-escalation headlines from the Mideast, sinking on Friday in response to Iran’s announcement that the Strait of Hormuz is “completely open,” easing concerns around a prolonged energy supply shortage. Remarks from Washington around Iran surrendering its uranium stockpile added to decreasing geopolitical risks, but oil prices remained floored due to Iran warning against a continued U.S. naval blockade of the waterway and, despite the reopening of the Strait, a world that must wait for energy shipments to arrive. Elsewhere, gold prices jumped to end the week on hopes that a stable U.S.-Iran agreement may reduce inflationary pressures and limit the need for tighter monetary policy from central banks — a positive for the non-yielding yellow metal. In currencies, the U.S. dollar weakened for the second straight week on easing tensions in the Persian Gulf and traders nearly doubling bets on a Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cut this year, while other major currencies such as the yen and euro strengthened against the greenback.

Economic Weekly Roundup

U.S. wholesale prices highlighted a relatively light economic calendar, arriving cooler than expected for the month of March, based on Producer Price Index (PPI) data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Headline figures roughly matched a 0.5% increase in prices indicated by revised February data, with energy easily contributing the most amid the bottleneck in the Strait of Hormuz, while services and goods inflation eased from the previous month. Increases in core wholesale prices, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, dropped to just 0.1% last month.

On an annual basis, however, producer prices rose to 4.0% from 3.4% a year prior. Surging oil and gasoline prices were the natural culprit, and warrants continued attention in the April report, but the modest rise was smaller than markets expected. On another note, Wall Street continues to monitor data for visibility on how companies are passing tariff-related effects on to consumers, and trade service costs (a general proxy for profit margins) dropped for the second straight month in March after rising in December and January.

The Week Ahead

The following economic data is slated for the week ahead:

• Monday: No economic releases scheduled
• Tuesday: ADP Weekly Employment Change (Apr 4), Philadelphia Fed Non-Manufacturing Activity (Apr), Retail Sales (Mar), Business Inventories (Feb), Pending Home Sales (Mar)
• Wednesday: MBA Mortgage Applications (Apr 17)
• Thursday: Chicago Fed National Activity Index (Mar), Initial Jobless Claims (Apr 18), Continuing Claims (Apr 11), S&P Global U.S. Manufacturing, Services, and Composite PMIs (Apr preliminary), Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Activity (Apr)
• Friday: University of Michigan Sentiment Consumer Sentiment Report (Apr final), Kansas City Fed Services Activity (Apr), Bloomberg U.S. Economic Survey (Apr)

Important Disclosures

This material is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. There is no assurance that the views or strategies discussed are suitable for all investors. To determine which investment(s) may be appropriate for you, please consult your financial professional prior to investing.

Investing involves risks including possible loss of principal. No investment strategy or risk management technique can guarantee return or eliminate risk.

Indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Index performance is not indicative of the performance of any investment and does not reflect fees, expenses, or sales charges. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results.

This material was prepared by LPL Financial, LLC. All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however LPL Financial makes no representation as to its completeness or accuracy.

Unless otherwise stated LPL Financial and the third party persons and firms mentioned are not affiliates of each other and make no representation with respect to each other. Any company names noted herein are for educational purposes only and not an indication of trading intent or a solicitation of their products or services.

Asset Class Disclosures –

International investing involves special risks such as currency fluctuation and political instability and may not be suitable for all investors. These risks are often heightened for investments in emerging markets.

Bonds are subject to market and interest rate risk if sold prior to maturity.

Municipal bonds are subject and market and interest rate risk and potentially capital gains tax if sold prior to maturity. Interest income may be subject to the alternative minimum tax. Municipal bonds are federally tax-free but other state and local taxes may apply.

Preferred stock dividends are paid at the discretion of the issuing company. Preferred stocks are subject to interest rate and credit risk. They may be subject to a call features.

Alternative investments may not be suitable for all investors and involve special risks such as leveraging the investment, potential adverse market forces, regulatory changes and potentially illiquidity. The strategies employed in the management of alternative investments may accelerate the velocity of potential losses.

Mortgage backed securities are subject to credit, default, prepayment, extension, market and interest rate risk.

High yield/junk bonds (grade BB or below) are below investment grade securities, and are subject to higher interest rate, credit, and liquidity risks than those graded BBB and above. They generally should be part of a diversified portfolio for sophisticated investors.

Precious metal investing involves greater fluctuation and potential for losses.

The fast price swings of commodities will result in significant volatility in an investor’s holdings.

This research material has been prepared by LPL Financial LLC.

Not Insured by FDIC/NCUA or Any Other Government Agency | Not Bank/Credit Union Deposits or Obligations | Not Bank/Credit Union Guaranteed | May Lose Value

For Public Use – Tracking: #1090754

Source