April 22 Update

Middle East developments and the price of oil still move the markets.  Just look at the past couple of days. 

But there is a shift going on – I think.  Beyond the Middle East, the markets are looking at other things. 

First, earning season is off to a strong start.  93 of the S&P 500 report this week.  Around 50 companies have reported so far.  92% are beating expectations with 11% overall beat.  Sectors leading the way are financials, materials, and technology.  Energy, healthcare and communication services are down YOY – so far.

However, some upcoming events may be more important.  Specifically, there are important IPOs scheduled to come to market in the next couple of months.  SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic are planning IPOs.  BTW, AMZN investing $25 billion in Anthropic. 

The stock market needs to remain stable to good for these deals to get done.  There is a lot of stock to sell and Wall Street firms stand to make a lot of money getting these done. 

Middle East and geo-political headlines still matter but there are some other economic and non-economic developments that might be just as important.