Markets rally, oil stays high

Wall Street pushed to fresh highs on April 22 after President Donald Trump extended the U.S.-Iran ceasefire, even as oil stayed above $100 a barrel. (reuters.com) The S&P 500 closed at 7,137.90 and the Nasdaq Composite at 24,657.57, both record closes, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 343.64 points, or 0.69%, to 49,492.95. (cnbc.com) Reuters reported earlier in the day that the rally was already taking shape, with the S&P 500 up 0.77% and the Nasdaq up 1.30% as traders bet the truce might hold and first-quarter earnings remained solid. LSEG data cited by Reuters showed first-quarter earnings growth tracking at about 14%. (reuters.com) Oil told a different story. Brent crude rose more than 3% to close at $101.91 a barrel on April 22, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate settled at $92.96 after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it seized two container ships in the Strait of Hormuz. (cnbc.com) That waterway handles about 20% of global oil supply, and shipping through it remained badly disrupted even after the first ceasefire was announced on April 7. Reuters reported that only three ships passed through the strait in the 24 hours before April 21. (reuters.com, reuters.com) The truce itself has narrowed, not ended, the conflict. Trump said the extension followed a request from Pakistani mediators, but Reuters reported that the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports remained in place and Iran said a full ceasefire required that blockade to be lifted. (reuters.com) Markets have been trading two timelines at once since the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire on April 7. Stocks have focused on the chance of a broader peace deal, while oil has focused on the fact that ships and barrels still are not moving normally through Hormuz. (weforum.org, reuters.com) The economic risk sits in that gap. International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the war had already cut global oil supply by 13% and was hitting supply chains for products including helium and fertilizers. (weforum.org) Investors also had company results to lean on. Reuters said strong earnings helped reassure traders about the U.S. consumer, and Goldman Sachs data cited in the report showed S&P 500 earnings-per-share estimates for 2026 and 2027 had risen 4% since late January. (reuters.com) The result was a market celebrating lower odds of immediate escalation while still paying wartime prices for energy. That is how stocks can hit records on the same day Brent closes above $101. (reuters.com, cnbc.com)