Streaking. The Nasdaq Composite got a boost from an old friend en route to its ninth-consecutive gain.

The tech-heavy index rose 1.2%, boosted in part by software stocks, to mark its longest winning streak since 2023.

The S&P 500 finished the day up 1.o%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 302 points, or 0.6%.

The major indexes started the day lower after President Donald Trump announced a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. The move followed peace negotiations between the U.S. and Iran in Pakistan that didn’t yield an agreement.

Though oil prices spiked on the news, parts of the market are eager to look beyond the conflict. My colleague Karishma Vanjani writes:

The break-even inflation rate for the 2-year and 10-year reveal how the market thinks prices would behave in the near- and long-term. Plotting the difference between these two expected inflation rates delivers this so-called curve, which has been under intense scrutiny.

The break-even curve “highlights the markets moving on from the [Iran] conflict,” wrote Barry Knapp, managing partner of Ironsides Macroeconomics, underneath a video posted Monday.

Karishma writes that the gap between the 10- and 2-year break-even rate was at negative 0.5408 percentage points, compared with negative 0.997 percentage points on March 20.

The gap has reduced as the market now assumes lower annual average inflation over the short term. Specifically, the 2-year break-even inflation rate is now at 2.9369% versus 3.3831% on March 20.

Meanwhile, the market’s long-term expectations, or 10-year break-even inflation rate, has stayed around 2.34% this entire time. An unchanged rate over the long-term means that despite the attacks on the Federal Reserve’s independence, the Iran war and inflation remaining above the Fed’s target over the past five years, investors believe the central bank will ultimately keep inflation restrained.

It isn’t just the bond market. A majority of stocks in the S&P 500 rose on Monday, though Goldman Sachs took a dent out of the Dow. More on that below.

The Nasdaq has risen more than 11% in the past-nine trading days. A good chunk of those gains were driven by chip stocks, as Wall Street bought artificial intelligence beneficiaries at the expense of software stocks deemed potential victims of AI advancements.

Not today. The beaten-down iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF rallied 5.4%, to $78.70.

“There is an old adage: ‘from false moves come fast moves in the opposite direction,’” Jonathan Krinsky, BTIG’s chief market technician, wrote on Monday. “Well the break below $77 has lasted all of two days, and with it firmly back above that level on heavy volume, we certainly would not want to stay short the group right now.”

The PHLX Semiconductor Sector needed a late rally to end the day up 1.7%.

-	Last	Chg%
↑ Dow Jones Industrial Average	48,218.25	+0.63%
↑ S&P 500 Index	6,886.24	+1.02%
↑ NASDAQ Composite Index	23,183.74	+1.23%

4/13/2026, 7:59:32 PM ET

The Hot Stock: Oracle +12.7%
The Biggest Loser: Fastenal -6.9%

Best Sector: Financials +1.7%
Worst Sector: Utilities -1.2%

MESSAGE FROM: MANSION GLOBAL BOUTIQUE

Mother's Day 2026 Gift Guide

Your mom isn't average, and her Mother's Day gifts shouldn't be either. From handmade felt flowers that'll last forever to seriously luxe candles with couture branding, Mansion Global Boutique's got everything you need to spoil her this year.

Shop Now >

Here Come the Banks

Can you believe it’s already earnings season again? Goldman Sachs kicked of a stretch of reports from major financial firms today.

My colleague Rebecca Ungarino reports that Goldman earnings jumped 19% from the same quarter a year ago. The stock, however, fell 1.9% and shaved more than 100 points off the Dow. Rebecca writes:

Investment-banking fees jumped 48% from a year earlier to $2.84 billion, thanks to meaningfully higher revenue from both advisory work—where bankers guide clients on big-ticket deals such as mergers and acquisitions—and equity underwriting. Debt underwriting also rose.

Goldman’s stock traders turned in a record quarter. The business notched record revenue for equities, including equities financing—when the firm lends to clients such as hedge funds for their own trading—that itself surged 59% to a record.

The bank’s revenue from its fixed-income, currencies, and commodities business was less impressive.

The FICC category is sensitive to volatile swings in energy markets, Rebecca writes.

FICC, as it’s known on Wall Street, can be volatile from quarter to quarter as it hinges on a range of commodity markets and monetary policy. Energy markets in particular have swung wildly this year as the Trump administration’s war in Iran drives up energy prices.

Goldman is just an appetizer. JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and BlackRock all report tomorrow, followed by Bank of America and Morgan Stanley on Wednesday.

You can read Rebecca’s bank earnings preview here.

The Calendar

Albertsons, BlackRock, CarMax, Citigroup, Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo report quarterly results tomorrow.

The National Federation of Independent Business releases its Small Business Optimism Index for March, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the producer price index for March.

What We’re Reading Today

• The ‘Real’ Oil Price Is a Lot Higher Than It Looks

• Oracle Stock Leads the S&P 500 Today After AI Announcement

• Will the Iran Truce Hold? Where to Invest—Whether It Fizzles or Settles In

• Lululemon Target of Texas Probe Into Toxic Chemicals. The Stock Is Falling.

• U.S. Military Adopts Siege Strategy. What It Means for Defense Stocks.

Barron’s Live returns on Monday. Barron’s Live features timely and actionable insights for investors. We give you behind-the-scenes conversations with the newsroom, connecting you with our editors and reporters covering the markets, the economy, and more.