Gotrade News - The S&P 500 closed April at 7,209.01 after a 1.02% Thursday rally, locking in a fresh record. The benchmark posted a 10.4% monthly gain, its strongest performance since November 2020 according to Kabar Bursa.
The advance coincided with a softer US dollar and a 1.7% rebound in spot gold to USD4,618.67 per troy ounce. Traders read the move as confirmation of capital rotation into risk assets ahead of expected Federal Reserve easing.
Key Takeaways
- April marked the S&P 500's strongest month since 2020 with a 10.4% gain, led by industrial and large-cap tech names.
- Suspected Japanese intervention pushed USD/JPY 2.33% lower to 156.52 and dragged the dollar index DXY down to 98.06.
- Spot gold rose 1.7% while Brent crude fell 3.41% to USD114.01 per barrel after eight straight up sessions.
Caterpillar shares jumped nearly 10% after quarterly earnings beat estimates and management raised revenue guidance. Alphabet climbed roughly 10% as Q1 revenue topped consensus and the company unveiled USD190 billion in 2026 capital expenditure plans.
Not every megacap contributed to the rally. Meta dropped 8.6% and Microsoft eased 3.9% during the same session per Kabar Bursa.
Tom Graff, Chief Investment Officer at Facet, said the Magnificent Seven prints did not deliver enough upside to shift sentiment. Investors remain focused on whether heavy AI capex will translate into software-grade margins or compress long-run valuations.
The dollar index DXY fell 0.80% to 98.06 after Japanese authorities reportedly intervened to halt yen weakness. USD/JPY plunged 3% intraday before settling at 156.52 with a 2.33% drop.
John Velis of BNY described the Japanese intervention as a reasonable response to market moves that had outrun fundamentals. EUR/USD also climbed 0.51% to 1.1733 while GBP/USD added 0.98% to 1.3607.
Spot gold rebounded 1.7% to USD4,618.67 per troy ounce after touching a one-month low according to IDX Channel. David Meger of High Ridge Futures pointed to dollar weakness and softer energy prices as the primary support.
Brent crude slid 3.41% to USD114.01 per barrel after eight consecutive higher closes. The pullback came despite ongoing US-Iran tensions with the Strait of Hormuz still flagged as a global supply chokepoint.
The European Central Bank held rates while monitoring 3% inflation that remains above the 2% target. Markets now look to the Federal Reserve for direction after a mixed run of macro data.
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