Market Summary — Midday — 2026-04-23

MARKET SUMMARY

Midday trading on April 23, 2026, featured a V-shaped session marked by early weakness followed by modest recovery as investor sentiment stabilized following geopolitical concerns and earnings volatility. The session opened lower, with S&P 500 futures down 20 points and Nasdaq 100 futures down 71 points vs. fair value at 09:15 ET, reflecting profit-taking after recent record highs and selloffs in mega-cap tech—Tesla, IBM, Honeywell, and ServiceNow all declined premarket and into the open amid earnings reports. However, sentiment reversed as a CCTV report hinted at possible U.S.–Iran talks, triggering buy-the-dip activity in mega-caps and stabilizing futures. By 11:00 ET, the Dow had turned positive (+7.20), while the S&P 500 edged up 0.07% (7143.03) and the Nasdaq remained down 0.13% (24626.52). Broadly, the market exhibited rotation: the equal-weighted S&P 500 outperformed the cap-weighted index, signaling a shift from mega-cap leadership toward broader participation, consistent with an enduring bull market’s natural cycle. Strength was led by Utilities, Industrials, Consumer Staples, Real Estate, and Energy, while Materials, Information Technology, Consumer Discretionary, and Financials underperformed.

MARKET SNAPSHOT

| Index | Level | Change | % Chg |
|—————-|—————|————–|———–|
| DJIA | 49,497.23 | +7.20 | +0.01% |
| S&P 500 | 7,143.03 | +5.13 | +0.07% |
| Nasdaq Comp. | 24,626.52 | -31.05 | -0.13% |

Breadth (NYSE): Advancers: 1,383 | Decliners: 1,260 | Volume: 193M
Breadth (Nasdaq): Advancers: 1,646 | Decliners: 2,616 | Volume: 2.91B

WaveFinder Breadth Metrics (as of 2026-04-23):

• Primary Sentiment: Bullish
• Primary Bulls: 1,128 | Bears: 650
• Above 40 SMA: 69.88%
• Above 20 SMA: 40%
• 4% Sentiment (Bearish): 4% (Bulls: 116 | Bears: 378)

SECTOR PERFORMANCE

Strength (Industry Watch): Utilities, Industrials, Consumer Staples, Real Estate, Energy
Weakness (Industry Watch): Materials, Information Technology, Consumer Discretionary, Financials

WaveFinder ATR Volatility ( Rising / Falling & Percentiles):

• Technology: +3.09% (Rising, P95)
• Financials: +2.41% (Rising, P95)
• Industrials: +1.57% (Flat, P95)
• Real Estate: +1.76% (Rising, P84)
• Utilities: –0.58% (Falling, P11)
• Consumer Staples: –1.23% (Flat, P95)
• Energy: –0.13% (Falling, P37)
• Consumer Discretionary: +0.24% (Rising, P68)
• Health Care: –1.27% (Rising, P42)
• Communication Services: +1.09% (Rising, P74)
• Materials: –0.22% (Flat, P58)

Note: Performance rankings align with ATR trends—sectors with falling ATR (e.g., Utilities, Consumer Staples) are showing stabilization and outperformance, while high-volatility sectors like Tech and Financials face headwinds despite earnings.

KEY EARNINGS & MOVERS

• Texas Instruments (TXN): $274.65, +$38.34 (+16.22%) — Q1 EPS and revenue beat; Q2 guidance well above consensus. Driving semiconductor strength (PHLX Semicon Index +1.8%, +33% MTD).
• IBM (IBM): $225.08, -$26.78 (–10.63%) — Q1 EPS +10% and revenue beat ($15.92B, +9.5% y/y), but guidance reaffirmed, not raised. Best Q1 revenue growth in >10 years insufficient to offset missed ramp-up expectations.
• ServiceNow (NOW): $87.94, -$15.13 (–14.68%) — EPS and revenue in-line; FY26 revenue guidance sub-consensus. Part of software selloff.
• Tesla (TSLA): $375.44 (11:00 ET), –$12.07 (–3.11%) — Pre-market selloff driven by capex guidance concerns; after-hours: +$6.19 (+1.63%) after reporting earnings (beats on EPS and revs; Optimus factory to start Q2).
• Boeing (BA): $231.28, +$12.12 (+5.53%) — Q1 narrower loss, revenue +14% y/y to $22.22B, record $695B backlog.
• United Airlines (UAL): $91.71, -$5.42 (–5.58%) — Full-year EPS guidance cut to $7.00–$11.00 (vs. prior $12–$14) on rising fuel costs and softer demand.

STOCK SPOTLIGHT

IBM: Solid Quarter, Disappointing Outlook
IBM delivered its strongest quarterly revenue growth in over a decade (+9.5% y/y, +6.0% CC) and best-in-decade Q1 performance, with Software ARR rising +10% CC to $24.6B and hybrid cloud/infrastructure (Hybrid Infrastructure +25%, IBM Z +48%) driving broad-based strength. Despite reaffirming and slightly upgrading FY26 Software segment growth guidance to 10%+ CC, the decision not to raise full-year revenue guidance—consistent with historical practice but contrary to elevated post-earnings expectations—sparked investor disappointment. Management’s Q2 software growth expectations fell short of annual targets, raising near-term trajectory concerns. Analysts note that while IBM’s AI-driven transformation (Red Hat acceleration to 10%, GenAI demand) remains robust, market participants want clearer sequential acceleration in software growth to justify current multiples—especially amid software-sector weakness and broader risk-off sentiment.

BOND MARKET & TREASURIES

• 10-Yr Yield: 4.288% (+1 bp at 10:25 ET after rebound from overnight lows)
• 2-Yr Yield: 3.80% (+1 bp)
• 30-Yr Yield: 4.89% (–1 bp)
• 3-Yr & 5-Yr: Unchanged at 3.81% and 3.92%, respectively.

Drivers: Early weakness in Treasuries reversed following the Initial Jobless Claims report (214K vs. 212K cons.), and further boosted by a CCTV report hinting at U.S.–Iran talks. Overnight, yields rose amid oil spike (>$97/bbl) and geopolitical risk, but the reversal began as oil retreated to ~$93.70/bbl and equities stabilized.

COMMODITIES

• WTI Crude: $93.70/bbl (+0.8% daily); rose 3.9% yesterday to $93.01 after earlier spiking to $97.00/bbl on Iran speculation.
• Natural Gas: $2.73 (+$0.04)
• Gold: $4,753.80/oz (+$34.70)
• Silver: $77.95/oz (+$1.55)
• Copper: $6.13/lb (+$0.12)

OVERSEAS MARKETS

Asia-Pacific (23-Apr-26 Pre-Market / Early Trade):

• Japan’s Nikkei: –0.8%
• South Korea’s Kospi: +0.9% (record high); Q1 GDP 1.7% q/q (vs. 1.0% exp.), 3.6% y/y
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng: –1.0%
• China’s Shanghai Composite: –0.3%
• India’s Sensex: –1.1%
• Australia’s ASX: –0.6%

Europe (23-Apr-26 Morning):

• France’s CAC: +0.2% (automakers/consumer strength)
• UK’s FTSE: –0.2%
• Germany’s DAX: –0.3%
• France’s flash April Manufacturing PMI: 52.8 (vs. 49.5 exp.); Services PMI: 46.5 (contracting)
• Eurozone Manufacturing PMI: 52.2 (vs. 50.9 exp.), Services PMI: 47.4

Drivers: Strong South Korean Q1 GDP and Japan’s surprise Manufacturing PMI (54.9 vs. 51.1 exp.) supported sentiment, but oil volatility and geopolitical risk (Iran) capped gains. U.S.–Iran de-escalation expectations lifted Korean equities, while Europe’sServices PMI underperformance weighed.

ECONOMIC DATA

• Initial Jobless Claims (Week ending 4/18): 214,000 (+6K vs. prior), vs. 212K consensus — no sign of labor market deterioration.
• Continuing Claims (4/11): 1.821M (+12K)
• U.S. PMI (Preliminary April):

– Manufacturing: 54.0 (vs. 52.3 prior)
– Services: 51.3 (vs. 49.8 prior)

• Global PMI Highlights: Japan Manufacturing 54.9 (51.6 prior); South Korea Manufacturing 52.2 (49.2 prior); Eurozone Manufacturing 52.2 (51.6 prior).

Impact: Solid U.S. labor data and manufacturing PMI reinforced resilient growth narrative, offsetting early geopolitical pressure. Stronger-than-expected Asia PMIs supported risk sentiment.

LOOKING AHEAD

• Earnings: Tesla (TSLA) reported after hours (April 22); after-hours reaction was +1.63% on Cybercab/Semi volume timing and Optimus factory start date.
• Key Upcoming:

– 4/24: Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOG), Meta (META), Netflix (NFLX) — focus on AI monetization & cloud guidance.
– 4/25: Apple (AAPL) (expected), Amazon (AMZN)
– 4/28: Fed minutes; April PCE Price Index (core inflation gauge).
– 4/29: ISM Manufacturing (21:00 ET), EIA crude inventory.

• Catalysts to Monitor: Progress (or setbacks) on U.S.–Iran negotiations; oil price sensitivity; tech earnings beat quality vs. guidance; and any shift in Fed rhetoric on inflation.

Note: With S&P 500 +13% from March low and Nasdaq +19.2%, the market appears to be “running out of excuses”—making near-term technical rotation and margin pressure a key risk.