Macro Pilgrim's Ledger | May 3, 2026
Big Tech earnings drive S&P 500 to record highs as oil tops $105 amid Strait of Hormuz standoff and Fed hawkish signals
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Global equities posted solid gains on the week as a dense earnings calendar anchored by Big Tech, an 8-4 FOMC decision, and the continuing standoff over the Strait of Hormuz pulled markets in competing directions.
The S&P 500 rose 0.9% on the week to close at 7,230.12, its fifth consecutive weekly gain and a fresh record close, while the Nasdaq advanced to close at a record 25,114.44. The Dow was flat as energy cost pressures weighed on industrial and multinational components.
WTI crude closed the week above $105 per barrel as the Strait of Hormuz remained effectively closed to most international commercial traffic and the Trump administration rejected Iran’s latest diplomatic proposal. Gold closed the week at $4,571 per ounce, pressured by rising real yields and reduced safe-haven demand,
The 10-year Treasury yield closed the week at 4.39%, up from 4.31% the prior Friday, driven higher by the Fed’s hawkish dissent signals and persistent inflation concerns tied to elevated energy prices. The VIX finished the week at 16.76, reflecting a market that has largely priced in the geopolitical uncertainty while remaining attentive to what lies ahead.
“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed.”...Dwight D. Eisenhower
