Monthly Market Update – April 2026

By Simmons Investment Advisors on May 1, 2026

Access PDF Here

Headlines From Last Month:

• US stocks rallied sharply in April despite the continued conflict in Iran and higher oil prices:
  • US markets broke a five-week losing streak at the beginning of April and didn’t look back. Both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones closed the month at record highs.
  • April was the best monthly performance in 6 years.
  • The Nasdaq notched 13-straight positive trading sessions.
• The Nikkei rallied 16.1% in April, after falling -13.23% in March, now up 17.77% for the year.
• Federal Reserve:
  • Left rates unchanged on April 29^th, as expected. It was noted that inflation from the war with Iran “hasn’t even peaked yet.”
  • This was Powell’s last meeting as the Federal Reserve chair.  He will be the first since 1948 to step down but remain on the board as a governor.
  • Kevin Warsh was approved as the next chair by the Senate Banking Committee.
• Iran:
  • Two US airmen were safely rescued early in April following the crash of an F-15E jet deep in Iranian territory.
  • Trump threatened increased pressure on Iran on April 5^th along with “complete demolition” of the country’s power plants and bridges. He gave Iran a deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 8pm on the 7^th.
  • About 90 minutes before that deadline, Trump agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran, which had been proposed by Pakistan earlier that afternoon. This included the re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz, which led to a sharp drop in the price of oil and a 2.5%-2.85% rally for US stocks the next day.
  • Over the following weekend, peace talks with Iran fell through and Trump said that the US will begin blockading the Strait of Hormuz.
  • On the 16^th, Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 10-day ceasefire, leading to Iran declaring that the Strait would be open to all commercial traffic during that time. Trump maintained that the US’s own naval blockade would remain in place until a peace deal between the US and Iran is signed. The Strait was closed again on the 18^th by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps due to the continued US blockade.
  • Trump announced an extension of the US ceasefire with Iran indefinitely on the 21^st, a day before it was set to expire.
• President Trump survived a third assassination attempt, after an armed gunman somehow managed to get into the White House Correspondents Dinner on Saturday, April 25^th.
• Government Shutdown:
  • The partial shutdown, which began in February, ended on April 30^th. The House approved the Senate-passed bill to fund most of the DHS. President Trump quickly signed the Homeland Security funding bill.
  • The lapse largely impacted the Department of Homeland Security, including the Coast Guard, TSA, Secret Service, and ICE.
• The price of Oil (WTI spot) moved 3.95% higher in April, now up 83.2% in 2026, closing the month at $105.15 a barrel:
  • It peaked on April 7^th, closing that session at $114.58 a barrel.
  • Restrictions at the Strait of Hormuz due to war with Iran continue to be the driver.
  • The United Arab Emirates announced that it’s leaving OPEC, the 12-nation oil cartel that accounts for half of global oil exports. The UAE said it wanted more freedom to decide how much oil to sell and that it plans to gradually grow oil production.
  • The national average price of gas per gallon rose to $4.30, up $0.30 from a month ago.
• Metals fell again last month, after sharp drops in March:
  • Gold (NY Spot) slipped -0.81%, still up 7.12% for the year.
  • Silver fell -2.12%. Year-to-date, it is now up only 2.67%.
• Mortgage Rates (30-year fixed, conforming) fell from 6.55% to 6.38%.
• Sports:
  • UCLA easily beat South Carolina by a score of 79-51 to win their first national women’s basketball title since 1978.
  • On the men’s side, Michigan beat UConn (69-63) to win its first title since 1989.
  • Rory McIlroy defended his title and took home his second green jacket after winning The Masters. This was his 6^th major championship victory.
  • Cooper Flagg became the youngest NBA player to score at least 50 points in a game when he scored 51 vs the Orlando Magic on April 3^rd. He followed that up with 45 points two days later to beat the Lakers.
  • The NBA and NHL started their playoffs in April.
  • Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe broke the two-hour marathon mark in London on April 26^th.
  • The Kentucky Derby will be held at Churchill Downs on May 2^nd.
• Other News:
  • Artemis II completed a moon flyby, with its astronauts setting the record for the farthest humans have ever traveled from Earth.

• Economic Data:
  • GDP for the 1^st quarter grew at an annualized rate of 2.0%, up 0.5% from the 4^th quarter of 2025, but lower than the 2.2% estimate.
  • Employment/Unemployment:
    • US Nonfarm Payrolls rose by 178K in March, higher than the expected rise of 60K and following a drop of 133K in February ⁽ⁱ⁾. 
    • Unemployment fell from 4.4% to 4.3%, vs estimates for no change ⁽ⁱ⁾.
  • Retail Sales rose 0.6% in February, better than the expected rise of 0.5% ⁽ⁱ⁾.
  • Inflation:
    • Consumer Price Index:
      • CPI rose 0.9% in March, as expected, and 3.3% on an annual basis, below the expected rise of 3.4% ⁽ⁱ⁾.
      • Core CPI (excludes food and energy) rose 0.2% and 2.6% annually, both 0.1% below estimates ⁽ⁱ⁾.
    • Producer Price Index:
      • PPI rose 0.5% in March, vs the expected rise of 1.1%. On a 12-month basis, it increased 4.0% ⁽ⁱ⁾.
      • Core PPI (excludes food and energy) rose 0.1%, vs estimates for a rise of 0.5%, and up 3.8% year over year ⁽ⁱ⁾.
    • Personal-Consumption Expenditures Index:
      • February report, released on April 9^th:
        • PCE rose 0.4% and 2.8% from a year ago, both as expected ⁽ⁱ⁾.
        • Core PCE (excludes food and energy) rose 0.4% for the month and 3.0% from a year ago, both as estimated ⁽ⁱ⁾.
      • March report, released on April 30^th:
        • PCE rose 0.7% and 3.5% from a year ago, both as expected ⁽ⁱ⁾.
        • Core PCE (excludes food and energy) rose 0.3% for the month and 3.2% from a year ago, both as estimated ⁽ⁱ⁾.
    • Personal Income slipped -0.1% in February, below estimates for 0.3% ⁽ⁱ⁾.
    • Personal Spending was up 0.5% for the month vs estimates for 0.6%⁽ⁱ⁾.

US Equities:

• Sector Performance:
  • Communication Services and Info Tech led all sectors in April, up 18.43% and 17.44% respectively. Consumer Discretionary gained 11.71%, Real Estate 8.61%, Industrials 7.90%, and Financials 5.43%. Energy lost -3.51% and Health Care slipped -0.58% ^(vii).
  • Year-to-date, Energy is up 32.43%, Industrials by 12.54%, Materials by 12.19%, Real Estate by 10.72%, Consumer Staples by 10.17%, Communication Services by 10.02%, and Utilities by 9.72%. On the downside, Health Care is down -5.83% and Financials are down -4.90% ^(vii).
• Growth vs. Value:
  • Growth (Russell 1000 Growth Index) ripped higher by 12.07% while Value (Russell 1000 Value Index) jumped 8.07%. For the year, Growth is up 0.97% and Value is up 9.80%.
• Small-cap stocks (Russell 2000 Index) gained 8.02% in April, down -8.39% in 2026.

• Monthly performance, calculated on a price return basis:
  • Dow gained 7.21%
  • S&P 500 rallied 10.42%
  • Nasdaq jumped 15.32%
• Year-to-date performance, calculated on a price return basis:
  • Dow is up 3.37%
  • S&P 500 is up 5.31%
  • Nasdaq is up 7.12%

US Fixed Income – Yields rose slightly in April:

• Yields on US Treasuries at the end of the month:
  • 1 year – 3.72% ^(iv)
  • 2 year – 3.88% ^(iv)
  • 10 year – 4.38% ^(iv)
• As a point of reference, at March month-end, yields were at:
  • 1 year – 3.66% ^(iv)
  • 2 year – 3.79% ^(iv)
  • 10 year – 4.32% ^(iv)

Regards,

Mike & Steve

DISCLOSURE: All data is as of previous month-end (April 30^th, 2026).  Sources include www.cnbc.com (i), https://www.cnn.com/business (ii), https://finance.yahoo.com (iii), other public websites, Hightower Advisors, LLC (iv), FactSet (v), Barron’s (vi) and www.spglobal.com (vii)