Stocks hit fresh records

U.S. stocks closed at fresh highs this week, with the S&P 500 finishing at 7,041.28 on April 16 and the Nasdaq also setting a new record. (finance.yahoo.com 1) (finance.yahoo.com 2) Yahoo Finance reported the S&P 500 and Nasdaq notched those records on Thursday, April 16, after investors reacted to easing war fears and another wave of first-quarter earnings. Barron’s also reported record closes for both indexes in live market coverage the same day. (finance.yahoo.com) (barrons.com) Bank earnings were a big part of the push. JPMorgan Chase reported first-quarter 2026 net income of $16.5 billion, Wells Fargo reported $5.3 billion, and Citigroup said earnings per share rose to $3.06 from $1.96 a year earlier. (jpmorganchase.com) (wellsfargo.com) (citigroup.com) Those results landed as analysts were already expecting broad profit growth. FactSet said the S&P 500 was on track for 12.6% first-quarter earnings growth as of last week, which would be the sixth straight quarter of double-digit year-over-year growth. (factset.com) Markets were also trading with less fear than they were earlier in the month. The Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX, closed at 17.94 on April 16, a level far below the spikes that usually accompany heavy selling. (finance.yahoo.com) Investors are also still watching the Federal Reserve. CME Group’s FedWatch tool says futures prices are used to estimate the odds of rate moves, and CME said in a March 2026 market note that traders were pricing in another pause and lower odds of near-term changes through the summer. (cmegroup.com 1) (cmegroup.com 2) The backdrop helps explain why records are arriving even with oil, geopolitics, and rate uncertainty still in play. Yahoo Finance said this earnings season began with risks around Iran, artificial intelligence spending, and delayed Fed cuts, but analysts still saw corporate profits as the market’s main driver. (uk.finance.yahoo.com) For now, the benchmark is simple: companies are still beating expectations, volatility is relatively contained, and the S&P 500’s latest close has set a new line for Wall Street to defend. (factset.com) (finance.yahoo.com)