Traders were active on the New York Stock Exchange floor just before the closing bell on April 24, 2026.
Stock futures dipped during overnight trading as stalled peace discussions concerning Iran and heightened tensions in the Strait of Hormuz led to a spike in oil prices and kept geopolitical issues at the forefront as the week began.
Futures tracking the Dow Jones Industrial Average saw a decrease of 0.2%, which translates to a drop of 130 points. Meanwhile, S&P 500 futures dropped by 0.3%, as did Nasdaq 100 futures.
On Saturday, President Donald Trump announced he would not send U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan for discussions related to an Iran ceasefire, suggesting that phone conversations could suffice instead.
In one of his statements, the president remarked, “Wasted time traveling and too much work! No one knows who’s in charge, including them. And we have all the cards and they don’t have any! If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!”
Esmail Bakaei, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, noted that there are currently no plans for negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.
Heightened tensions have been observed near the Strait of Hormuz following incidents where Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps boarded two container ships in a crucial shipping passage for global oil. As a result, West Texas Intermediate futures jumped about 2% to over $96 per barrel, while international benchmark Brent crude futures also increased by approximately 2%, exceeding $107 per barrel.
Despite this somewhat negative outlook, Adam Crisafulli from Vital Knowledge expressed a belief that the conflict is likely to de-escalate in time.
On the corporate front, five of the so-called Magnificent Seven companies are expected to announce their earnings during the last week of April, which has further intensified expectations for robust market growth.
Attention will also turn to the Federal Reserve’s policy decision on Wednesday, a meeting that could be crucial as it might mark Jerome Powell’s last before Kevin Warsh is set to take over in May. Notably, the Justice Department decided on Friday to halt its criminal investigation into Powell, and Sen. Thom Tillis ended his attempts to obstruct Warsh’s confirmation.
Last week, both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite reached new record highs, continuing their positive trajectory despite ongoing tensions in the Middle East and uncertainties regarding substantial spending in artificial intelligence. April appears to be a robust month for stock recovery, with the S&P 500 index climbing over 9% and the Nasdaq index soaring more than 15%. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average has also experienced over a 6% increase since the month began.
