The S&P 500 Just Broke 7,000 🚀

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What a reversal. Monday the U.S. Navy was blockading Iranian ports and the Dow was shedding 700 points on renewed war fears.

Wednesday, the S&P 500 closed at 7,022.95 (its first-ever close above 7,000) and the Nasdaq notched its 11th straight up day.

Let’s get into it 👇️ 

🎤 President Trump told Fox Business on Wednesday that the Iran war is "very close to over," while adding "we're not finished." The White House confirmed discussions are active for a second round of Pakistan-mediated peace talks, with Pakistan's army chief and interior minister dispatched to Tehran. VP Vance said Iran's refusal to commit to no-nukes remains the key sticking point. (Fox Business)

💰️ JPMorgan Chase posted Q1 net income of $16.49 billion, or $5.94 per share, on revenue of $50.54 billion — both well ahead of the $5.45 EPS consensus — as the markets division set a firm record at $11.6 billion. The bank trimmed its full-year net interest income guidance to roughly $103 billion from $104.5 billion. Shares slipped less than 1% on the day. (CNBC)

🥇 Citigroup reported EPS of $3.06 (vs. $2.65 estimate) on $24.63 billion revenue, its biggest quarter in at least a decade, with equities trading up 39%. Wells Fargo beat at $1.60 but fell premarket after net interest income of $12.1 billion missed estimates. Bank of America posted $30.3 billion in revenue and $1.11 EPS, its highest EPS in nearly two decades and its best trading quarter in 15 years. (InvestmentNews)

📈 Headline producer prices rose just 0.5% in March against a 1.1% consensus, while core PPI ticked up only 0.1% vs. 0.6% expected. The 12-month headline of 4.0% is still the highest since February 2023, but the monthly miss was enough to pull the 10-year Treasury yield lower and take the Fed's rate-hike chatter off the near-term table. (BLS)

🛢️ WTI crude for May delivery settled around $91.29 a barrel Wednesday after tumbling earlier in the week, as the White House signaled a second round of U.S.-Iran talks and traders priced out a chunk of the war premium. Prices are still well off the early-April highs near $112. Energy stocks lagged as the sector gave back gains. (CNBC)

💵 Spot gold pulled back Wednesday after touching an intraday high of $4,895 earlier in the session, as a rebounding U.S. dollar and fresh peace-talk optimism drained some of the safe-haven bid. Prices held above $4,800, still within striking distance of the blockade-era record. The every-headline-is-a-buy-signal regime in gold is clearly on pause. (Fortune)

🔼 TSMC reported Q1 revenue of $35.9 billion and a gross margin of 66.2%, both above guidance, and raised full-year 2026 sales growth expectations to "above 30%" from "close to 30%." Capex guidance moved to the high end of its $52-$56 billion range. Chairman C.C. Wei told analysts AI demand "continues to be extremely robust." Netflix reports after the close tonight. (Investing.com)

The S&P 500 closed at 7,022.95 on Wednesday, up 0.8% on the day and eclipsing the previous record of 7,002.28 set on January 28.

The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.6% to 24,016, topping its October 2025 high and extending a winning streak to 11 sessions — the longest since 2021.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average bucked the trend, slipping 72 points (0.15%) to 48,463 as investors rotated into growth and away from defensives.

CNBC noted that Wednesday's close fully erased the roughly 10% correction the S&P had endured since the U.S.-Iran war began February 28.

The rally is built on three legs 👇️ 

First, diplomacy: President Trump told Fox Business on Wednesday that the Iran war is "very close to over," and the White House confirmed a second round of U.S.-Iran peace talks could resume in Pakistan within days, brokered again by Pakistan's military chief Asim Munir.

Second, cooling inflation: Tuesday's March PPI print came in at 0.5% headline and just 0.1% core — less than half the 1.1% consensus — which put the Fed's "rate-hikes-back-on-the-table" talk on ice.

Third, blowout bank earnings: JPMorgan, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America all beat on the top and bottom lines, with trading revenue setting records across the Street.

The leadership is narrow but powerful. Microsoft is up roughly 10% on the week and Salesforce about 7%. Nvidia has now strung together 11 consecutive winning sessions, its longest streak on record.

Breadth matters from here. If the Russell 2000 and equal-weight S&P don't catch up, this looks like a Megacap melt-up riding a peace-trade premium.

What to watch: whether the Pakistan talks actually reconvene, whether the Strait of Hormuz blockade is lifted as a precondition, and whether Big Tech earnings — TSMC this morning, Netflix tonight — keep feeding the bid.

The mood has flipped completely in ten days. The question is whether it's flipped too far, too fast.

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⚠️ Disclaimer: Not financial advice. Do your research before making any trades.