Investors will look to a heavy week of U.S. corporate results to further fuel a stunning rebound in the U.S. stock market, which has shaken off war-related concerns to reach record peaks. Hopes for a cooling of U.S.-Iran tensions have led to a sharp rally this month, culminating with major U.S. stock indexes minting fresh records in recent days. The benchmark S&P 500.SPX on Wednesday posted its first record-high close since Jan 27, while the Nasdaq Composite.IXIC on the same day notched its first all-time-high close since Oct 29.
Investors are turning to a first-quarter earnings season that is expected to be robust, providing a key pillar buttressing bullish sentiment for stocks. Nearly one-fifth of S&P 500 companies are slated to report results in the coming week.
Oil prices remained at loftier levels. U.S. crude CLc1 was around $85 a barrel on Friday compared to $67 in late February, just before the U.S.-Israeli military strikes on Iran. Following the start of the war, the S&P 500’s slide took the benchmark index down 9% from its January peak. Since its recent low on March 30, the index has stormed back 12%, closing this week above the 7,000 level for the first time.
A number of megacap technology and tech-related stocks, which have led for much of the three-year-old bull market, were hit hard in the initial downturn. Some of those shined in the recent rebound, such as Alphabet GOOGL.O and Meta Platforms META.O, while the massive tech sector .SPLRCT also outperformed. The Nasdaq ended Friday up for a 13th straight session, the first time that has happened since 1992.
Investors are eyeing signs of frothiness, including the surge in shares of AllbirdsBIRD.O after the footwear maker said it was pivoting to AI computing infrastructure. Tesla TSLA.O TSLA.O reports on Wednesday, the first of the “Magnificent Seven” megacaps to post results for the just-completed quarter. Other companies to report include planemaker Boeing BA.N BA.N , semiconductor company Intel INTC.O INTC.O and consumer products maker Procter & Gamble PG.N PG.N . Heavyweights such as Microsoft MSFT.O MSFT.O , Alphabet and Meta report the following week.
S&P 500 earnings are expected to jump about 14% in the first quarter from a year earlier, according to LSEG IBES. Major banks kicked off the reporting period this week, posting soaring trading revenues after a volatile first quarter. They noted caution about economic risks even as they said consumers and households were resilient.
The path of interest rates will be in focus on Tuesday, when Kevin Warsh appears before Congress for a hearing.
More insight into the war’s economic fallout could come with retail sales data for March, out Tuesday. With gas prices hitting $4 a gallon in the wake of the war, investors will be eager to see the impact on consumer spending.
Reporting by Lewis Krauskopf, editing by Colin Barr and Nick Zieminski.
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