[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com]

1. Moving the market

The major indexes remained relatively unchanged in early trading, ahead of this week’s announcements of big tech earnings and economic data, as well as the latest developments in the trade saga.

There is still no clarity on any potential agreement with China, although Treasury Secretary Bessent noted progress on other proposals, suggesting that a deal with India might be “one of the first” to come.

The tug-of-war continues, with Trump stating last week that discussions with China were underway, which was vehemently denied by Chinese officials.

We are now approaching the busiest period of the first-quarter earnings season, during which more than 180 S&P 500 companies will release their reports.

April has been a volatile month for the indexes. The S&P 500 briefly entered bear market territory on April 7 but has since made a recovery. However, the index has yet to break through key resistance levels, leading some technical analysts to speculate that we might reverse and test the lows again.

This is a real possibility, as markets typically experience a lot of back-and-forth and testing of resistance levels—both on the downside and the upside—before stabilizing.

Today, stocks were saved by aggressive option buying in the last hour, which pulled the S&P 500 to a green close, although the Nasdaq did not follow suit.

Most shorted stocks were squeezed, and bond yields retreated, providing further support. The dollar took a beating, which gave gold a reason to rally strongly, with the precious metal reaching $3,360 again.

Bitcoin touched $95.5k in overnight trading, swung wildly during the day session, but ultimately lost a fraction.

While the S&P 500 is still down for April, it is within striking distance of wiping out that deficit before the month ends.

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STOCKS AND BONDS SHOW STRONG WEEKLY PERFORMANCE DESPITE CHOPPY SESSION

[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com]

1. Moving the market

Equities initially slipped but later recovered as traders weighed mixed earnings from major tech companies and the latest developments in the trade war.

Google parent Alphabet, part of the Mag7 stock basket, exceeded first-quarter earnings expectations, causing its stock to jump 2%. In contrast, Intel fell 7% after issuing disappointing guidance.

Bullish sentiment was further impacted by Trump’s comments in Time magazine, where he stated that he would consider it a “total victory” if the U.S. had high tariffs of 20% to 50% on foreign countries a year from now.

He also announced that many trade deals would be finalized in the next three to four weeks. However, there were no updates on China, which revealed that there were no ongoing discussions on tariffs, dampening market enthusiasm.

ZH described today’s session as choppy, range-bound, and quiet. Despite this, stocks and bonds showed strong performance for the week.

The dollar managed modest gains after two weeks of decline. Bond yields were lower this week, and gold experienced only its third down week of the year after reaching the $3,500 level, a pullback that was expected.

Bitcoin had a great week, touching $95,000 for the first time since February and breaking above key technical levels.

As I have repeatedly pointed out, Bitcoin appears to be in a bull run following global liquidity with a three-month lag.

Will it catch up with gold’s year-to-date performance?

[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com]

1. Moving the market

The tech sector led the ongoing rebound, as traders sought signs of progress in the heated tariff situation.

Despite China’s overnight announcement that no trade talks were happening with the U.S., they confirmed that all statements about progress on bilateral talks should be dismissed and that the cancellation of unilateral tariffs is forthcoming.

Wall Street traders found Trump’s less confrontational approach toward talks with Beijing more convincing, which fueled bullish sentiment for the third consecutive day.

While the markets are hoping for a reversal of tariffs or significant trade deals, we are still in correction territory. It remains to be seen whether the current optimism will push both indexes back onto a bullish path.

Recent economic “hard” data has crushed the “recession is imminent” narrative, although “soft” data remains weak, as illustrated by this chart.

Despite the headline fluctuations, the markets advanced steadily without any significant intraday selloff.

Bond yields dropped, the dollar retreated from yesterday’s highs, which helped gold rebound from its recent pullback, while Bitcoin maintained its gains.

Can the markets close out this week with another win tomorrow?