Wall Street extended its winning streak to seven straight sessions Thursday, with the S&P 500 adding 0.62% to close at 6,824, the Nasdaq leading the way up 0.83% to 22,822, the Dow gaining 0.58% to 48,150, and the Russell 2000 tacking on 0.60%. It’s the S&P’s longest run since October, and the market is doing it while climbing a wall of geopolitical worry.
The Iran ceasefire held — barely. The new Supreme Leader posted on X that aggressors “will not go unpunished.” Trump confirmed that U.S. military assets will remain in the region, and WTI crude crept back toward $98 after Wednesday’s historic 16% collapse. The Strait of Hormuz remains largely blocked, and nobody is popping champagne over this ceasefire just yet. The energy sector stabilized but stayed under pressure.
Amazon was the story of the day. AMZN detailed aggressive plans for AI, AWS, and chips, sending shares up over 5% to $233 on volume running 30% above average. CoreWeave added 3% after formalizing a $21 billion AI cloud deal with Meta through 2032. The AI buildout narrative is very much intact. On the other side of tech, software names struggled — Atlassian got hit after Guggenheim slashed its price target by nearly 40%, citing AI adoption headwinds, and Microsoft slipped modestly.
Industrials and materials continued to outperform. Delta’s CEO warned of higher fares and lighter schedules as the airline industry absorbs the oil price shock. Jobless claims came in at 219,000, up 16,000 from the prior week, but not alarming. The CNN Fear and Greed Index remains in Fear territory, and the VIX closed around 21 — elevated but well off the danger zone.
Seven up days, a fragile ceasefire, oil trying to find its number, and a market that just reclaimed its 200-day moving average. The bulls have momentum. The risk is one bad headline from Tehran.
See you tomorrow.