Market Minute ⏱️ 5/1/26: Markets Rip in April as Big Tech Delivers!

Mike Larson | Editor-in-Chief

Following an incredible month for equities, stocks are modestly higher this morning. Crude oil, gold, and silver are trading mixed, while Treasuries and the dollar are mostly flat. The Japanese yen is the standout in the forex markets, rallying in the last 24 hours after officials in that country intervened to prop it up.

April turned out to be a whopper of a month for the stock market. The S&P 500 Index (^SPX) surged just over 10%. Not only was that its biggest one-month gain since November 2020, it was also the second-best April EVER. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 15%, proof that markets made it through the “Big Tech Earnings Gauntlet” just fine.

S&P Delivers Second-Best April Performance on Record

While Meta Platforms Inc. (META) suffered an 8.5% slump after the firm boosted its capex spending estimate for 2026, Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) stock surged 9.9% after the company reported powerful sales and earnings growth. That included a 63% surge in revenue at the firm’s cloud computing division.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) stock is also rising 3% or so today on solid numbers and strong uptake of its iPhone 17 lineup. Revenue in that unit surged almost 22%. Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) managed a modest gain yesterday as well. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) was the only other loser besides Meta among the Magnificent Seven cohort, with a 3.9% decline.

Perhaps the most interesting “AI stock” this week was Caterpillar Inc. (CAT). Shares of the decidedly anti-tech heavy machinery and construction company soared yesterday because it’s an indirect beneficiary of the Artificial Intelligence boom. After all, it takes a lot of CAT equipment and services to build and operate data centers!

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