Wall Street set to extend rally after best month in years
by Niket Nishant and Utkarsh Hathi reuters · KSL.comKEY TAKEAWAYS
- Wall Street indexes poised for gains after strong monthly rise in April.
- Iran's negotiation proposal to U.S. boosts market futures amid oil risks.
- Apple's forecast, Big Tech earnings drive optimism; concerns over AI spending persist.
NEW YORK CITY — Wall Street's main indexes were on track for extended gains after market open on Friday, building on the impetus from their biggest monthly rise in years as confidence in strong earnings overshadowed oil risks.
Futures tracking the indexes also received a boost after a report from Iranian state media said Tehran had sent its latest proposal for negotiations with the United States to Pakistani mediators on Thursday.
Friday's session will close out a packed week of Big Tech earnings and economic data, with attention now shifting to questions on whether the rally will last as markets enter May, historically the start of a weaker six-month stretch for stocks.
Since 1945 through April 2026, the S&P 500 has gained an average of about 2% from May to October, according to data from Fidelity. That compares with a roughly 7% average gain November through April.
While earnings were largely solid, some investors have voiced concerns about tech giants' AI spending spree. Doubts about the sustainability of some software business models have also surfaced, prompting investors to reassess portfolios.
"The disruptive potential of AI across software, services, financials and other industries has created uncertainty about the durability and terminal value of certain business models," said Peter Vanderlee, portfolio manager at ClearBridge Investments.
Economic data released on Thursday also raised fears that the equity buying frenzy could be due for a reality check.
Although U.S. economic growth regained momentum in the first quarter, consumer spending, the economy's main growth engine, decelerated, and the personal savings rate also declined, suggesting households tapped into savings to support outlays.
Besides, the figures take into account just one month of the disruption stemming from the Middle East war. With shipping through the Strait of Hormuz having come to a standstill, oil prices may become a bigger burden, especially as the support from tax refunds in the first quarter tapers off.
"GDP expanded at a respectable-looking pace in Q1, but a glance under the hood suggests the economy's underlying momentum already was anemic before the energy shock was felt in earnest," said Samuel Tombs, chief U.S. economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
At 8:28 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis rose 216 points, or 0.43%, S&P 500 E-minis added 23 points, or 0.32%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis gained 22.5 points, or 0.08%.
The S&P 500 ended April with its biggest monthly percentage gain since November 2020, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced the most since April 2020. The Dow's monthly rise was its biggest since November 2024.
Upbeat Apple forecast boosts shares
Apple gained 3.5% in premarket trading after robust demand for its flagship iPhone 17 and MacBook Neo led the company to forecast solid sales growth for the fiscal third quarter.
Among energy companies, Exxon Mobil and Chevron reported first-quarter profit above estimates. Exxon edged 0.2% higher, while Chevron dipped 0.4%.
Shares of software companies climbed after Atlassian lifted its annual forecast.
The enterprise software maker surged 19.9%, while peers Salesforce and ServiceNow added 3% and 2%, respectively. Datadog rose 2.5% and Workday gained 3.4%.
Other major movers included Roblox, which fell 24.2% following a cut in its annual bookings forecast.
Reddit gained 13.6% after an upbeat quarterly revenue forecast.
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