Yet another record week for stocks. Strong first-quarter earnings and a war-driven spike in oil made for another historic week on Wall Street. Investors also made sense of a spate of economic data and the Federal Reserve’s latest interest rate decision. The S & P 500 and Nasdaq Composite gained 0.9% and 1.1%, respectively, over the last five sessions. Both indexes closed at records three times (Monday, Thursday and Friday). Thursday also marked the end of April trading, which was the S & P 500 and Nasdaq’s best month since 2020. It was the fifth straight week of gains for both indexes. The blue-chip Dow was up 0.55% for the week, but all those gains came Thursday; it finished in the red on the other four days. It’s unclear if stocks can keep up this magnificent run into next week, when the collection of companies reporting earnings is more diverse and at risk of disappointing . Until then, here are three takeaways from the past five trading sessions. Oil didn’t scare investors out of stocks Oil prices spiked as Wall Street monitored the latest Middle East developments. In the first few weeks of the war, the two mostly had an inverse relationship. But concerns around the Strait of Hormuz closure and supply disruptions aren’t driving investors out of equities quite like they did in March. Just look at Monday’s trading. International benchmark Brent and U.S. oil standard West Texas Intermediate both jumped after President Donald Trump scrapped plans for ceasefire talks with Iran over the weekend. The S & P 500 and Nasdaq still managed to close at record highs on Monday. Thursday is another example. Brent hit a four-year high following media reports that the U.S. military would brief the president on potential action against Iran. That same day, both indexes hit their second record close for the week. What really captivated Wall Street, though, was corporate earnings. Although a ton of Club names reported last week, Wednesday was the standout. Meta Platforms , Microsoft , Alphabet and Amazon all released results on the same night. Strong earnings, mixed reactions Each company reported a top and bottom line beat, but their stock reactions told a different story. Microsoft’s quarter couldn’t dispel concerns about the viability of its seat-based business model for its Office suite. The stock dropped nearly 4% Thursday after the results. It’s not surprising because Microsoft has been caught up in the “sell software” trade, which has weighed on Club name Salesforce as well. Jim Cramer said there is no need to buy the dip in Microsoft, describing the quarter as “not joyous.” We’re staying long for now because it wasn’t all bad. Microsoft’s forecast for Azure growth looked strong. Microsoft clawed back some of Thursday’s losses on Friday, adding 1.6%. Amazon shares gained an unassuming 0.8% Thursday. That belies the strength of its results. The company is firing on all cylinders. The e-commerce and cloud computing giant delivered its highest…
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