Charging Bull Roars as Hormuz Reopening, Lebanon Ceasefire Lift Wall Street to Records: April 17, 2026

The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is propelling Wall Street to another record session with the Nasdaq Composite sprinting to its 13th consecutive daily gain. Bolstering the offensive sentiment is crude oil tumbling more than 12%, yields plunging about 6 to 8 basis points across most of the curve, and a sinking greenback. Furthermore, every equity sector and subcomponent is advancing minus energy and utilities as the charging bull roars with aggressiveness and ferociousness. Cyclicals are leading with the Russell 2000 and the Dow Jones appreciating heavily as the former marks a fresh all-time high alongside the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. Volatility levels are falling hard with the VIX at just 17 as hedges get thrown out the window in light of the aggressive risk-on winds occurring during this monthly options expiration day. Joining the party as well are non-energy commodities and cryptocurrencies, which are rallying strongly as a result of the terrific mood amidst an improved economic backdrop. Additionally boosting optimism was yesterday’s Israel-Lebanon ceasefire announcement, which raised confidence that Washington and Tehran are close to reaching a truce. President Trump’s ongoing reassurances regarding the tense geopolitical situation also lifted prospects of Middle East peace, supporting investor psyche as well as speculative enthusiasms.

Economic Fundamentals Improved Overnight

Plunging oil prices are a spectacular development for Wall Street that has been afraid of what elevated energy costs would mean for the rate path, corporate margins, consumer spending capacity and inflation expectations. And now that the worst appears to be behind us on the geopolitical front, investors are breathing a sigh of relief just as the big weeks of earnings season are around the corner. But in consideration of today’s momentous stock market run, firms will likely need to deliver robust numbers and strong outlooks during their quarterlies to cause equities to rally further from these lofty levels: ie, Netflix being down roughly 10% after last night’s report. Other risks that could quell investor enthusiasms moving forward include unfavorable Middle East headlines, contagion in the private credit/equity space, lackluster capital returns on artificial intelligence investments, decelerating household expenditures, WTI crude remaining north of $80 and price pressures that are poised to stay higher than 3% for the rest of 2026.

International Roundup

Singapore Trade Surplus Jumps on AI Demand

Singapore’s trade surplus jumped from SGD 4.57 billion in February to SGD 11.21 billion last month, according to Enterprise Singapore. With the exception of the SGD 12.53 billion surplus in January, it was the strongest print since April 2025 when the value of exports exceeded imports by SGD 14.2 billion. With intensifying demand for AI, the value of non-oil Singapore products shipped abroad climbed 3% month over month (m/m) and 15.3% year over year (y/y). The former result slowed from 3.9% in February but the latter metric accelerated from 4% in the preceding period. Non-electronic exports fell 0.6% y/y, but the weakness only partially offset the 74% climb in electronic items snatched up by foreign markets. More specifically, demand for integrated circuits, personal computers and disk media products grew 113%, 57.3% and 78.3%. Conversely, the value of food preparations and pharmaceuticals sold to foreign markets, sank 42% and 18.4%, respectively. Among countries, exports to Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea were up 99.4%, 63.1% and 44.1% y/y. Indonesia, however, trimmed imports from Singapore by 56.8%. Purchases of Singapore products by European Union countries, the US and Thailand, additionally, sank 11.9%, 2.7% and 1%.

Euro Area Trade Surplus Returns

The euro area generated a €11.58 billion trade surplus in February, a reversal from the €1 billion deficit in January but down considerably from €22.9 billion in the year-ago period, according to Eurostat. Exports and imports sank 6.7% and 2.2% y/y. The trade balance for individual categories in February was as follows:

• Chemicals and related products, €16.2 billion
• Machinery and vehicles, €10.2 billion
• Food and drink, €2.7 billion
• Other, €2.3 billion
• Other manufactured goods, €2 billion
• Energy, – €20 billion
• Ray materials, -€1.8 billion

European Union Employment Rate Climbed Last Year

The percentage of employed working age individuals in the European Union climbed 0.3 percentage points last year to 76.1%, the highest level since the start of the data series in 2009. The metric, which tracks those with ages ranging from 20 to 64, was the highest in Malta, the Netherlands and Czechia with rates of 83.6%, 83.4% and 82.9%. Italy, Romania and Greece were laggards at 67.6%, 69% and 71%.

Canada Housing Starts Fall Below Expectations

Builders broke ground on 235,900 housing units on a seasonally adjusted annual rate in March, down from 251,000 in February and below the economist consensus estimate of 258,000, according to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Relative to March of last year, however, housing starts in centers with populations of 10,000 or more were up 10%. Similarly, year-to-date activity was 9% higher y/y, driven by gains in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec. In a press release, the CMHC maintains that housing starts are losing momentum and that depressed groundbreaking in 2025 created a low base for the year-to-date result.