Stock Market News for Apr 14, 2026
Wall Street closed higher on Monday after a choppy session. Initially major indexes fell sharply as the Middle East peace talks failed abruptly. However, markets regained momentum after President Donald Trump said some positive developments on renewed talks. Moreover, the first-quarter 2026 earnings season started on a positive note. All three major stock indexes ended in positive territory.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 0.6% or 301.68 points to close at 48,218.25. At the intraday low, the blue-chip index was down 0.9% or more than 400 points. Notably, 18 components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory while 12 ended in negative territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 23,183.74, rising 1.2% or 280.84 points due to the solid performance by technology bigwigs, especially AI giants. At the intraday low, the tech-laden index was down 0.5%
The S&P 500 gained 1% to finish at 6,886.24. At the intraday low, the benchmark was down 0.4%. However, seven out of 11 sectors of the broad-market index ended in negative territory while four ended in positive territory. The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP), the Financials Select Sector SPDR (XLF) and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) fell 1.3%, 1.15 and 1.4%, respectively.
The fear gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 0.6% to 19.12. A total of 15.90 billion shares were traded on Monday, lower than the last 20-session average of 19.07 billion. Advancing outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 2.8-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, a 2.82-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues.
The peace talks between the United States and Iran in Pakistan failed. Vice President JD Vance said in a Fox News Interview, “Whether we have further conversations, whether we ultimately get to a deal, I really think the ball is in the Iranian court, because we put a lot on the table.”
Iran disagreed to give up its nuclear ambitions. The United States has started blocking each and every port of Iran in the crucial Strait of Hormuz. However, President Trump later said “We’ve been called by the other side.” He added, “They’d like to make a deal very badly.”
Following Trump’s comment, Wall Street rebounded on the hope of a possible truce between the United States and Iran and a gradual restoration of the most important supply-chain system of crude oil and natural gas through the Strait of Hormuz.
Estimates for the first-quarter 2026 earnings season remained positive. The Zacks Consensus Estimate currently shows that total S&P 500 earnings in the first quarter of 2026 are currently expected to increase by 13.0% from the same period last year on 9.2% higher revenues.
The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. GS has reported first-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share of $17.55, which topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7.4%. The metric also rose 4.3% from a year ago. Quarterly net revenues were $17.23 billion, marking a 14.4% year-over-year increase and beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.5%.
Fastenal Co. FAST reported first-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share of $0.30, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The metric also rose 13.6% from a year ago. Quarterly net revenues were $2.2 billion, marking a 12.4% year-over-year increase and beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.04%. Fastenal currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The National Association of REALTORS reported that existing home sales in March fell to 3.98 million units, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 4.06 million units. The metric for February was revised upward to 4.13 million units from 4.09 million units reported earlier.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).