US President Donald Trump - shortly before the start of the April 23 trading session on the US markets - ordered the US military to "shoot and destroy" any boats that plant mines in the Strait of Hormuz. Also against this background, as well as - due to uncertainty about the de-escalation of the situation in the Middle East - the main U.S. stock indices opened with a decline, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/wall-st-futures-slip-investors-pause-clarity-us-iran-war-2026-04-23/">notes</a>.

Trump instructed to 'destroy' ships spreading mines in Strait of Hormuz Stocks fell

Tesla, Inc.

Intel Corporation

United Rentals, Inc.

Texas Instruments Incorporated

CSX Corporation

ServiceNow, Inc.

International Business Machines Corporation

Southwest Airlines Co.

GE Vernova Inc.

Teleflex Incorporated

Masco Corporation

The Boeing Company

Adobe Inc.

Robinhood Markets, Inc.

United Airlines Holdings, Inc.

Vertiv Holdings Co

Daily review and forecast of events on the U.S. stock market from Mikhail Denislamov, Deputy Director of Capital Markets Research, Freedom Broker.

Morning in New York: a healthy respite after the rally

Major U.S. stock indices opened on April 22 with growth amid contradictory signals from the Middle East. On the one hand, US President Donald Trump <a href="https://oninvest.com/article/tramp-prodlil-peremirie-s-iranom-cto-sovetuet-ubs">extended the</a> ceasefire with Iran, referring to the "split" in the Iranian government over the continuation of peace talks. On the other - already after this announcement, Iran announced the seizure of two ships in the Strait of Hormuz - allegedly for violating maritime laws. Both ships were escorted to Iranian shores by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). This is the first time Iran has seized ships since the beginning of the war, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/us-will-indefinitely-extend-ceasefire-unclear-if-iran-agrees-2026-04-22/">notes</a>.

"Guessing Game": oil at $100, stocks rise amid Iran uncertainty

U.S. stocks fell, while the price of oil jumped more than 5% in trading on Tuesday, April 21. Hopes that the U.S. and Iran would reach a peace deal before the ceasefire expires on Wednesday are dissipating. Talks that were supposed to take place in Pakistan have stalled, according to media reports, with Iranian officials refusing to participate and US Vice President J.D. Vance postponing a planned trip.

Stocks fall, Brent back above $100 after reports of Iran-U.S. talks breakdown

Private investors are exiting the cache, which may signal the end of the period of "political uncertainty" caused by the conflict in Iran

Fundstrat's Tom Lee predicted US equities to have "one of the best periods" in history

JPMorgan on Tuesday, April 21, raised its forecast for the S&amp;P 500 index for the end of 2026 to 7,600 points, explaining it by the growth of profits of companies associated with AI and technology. This comes just weeks after the bank, on the contrary, lowered its forecast for the index from 7,500 to 7,200 points, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/jp-morgan-lifts-sp-500-year-end-target-7600-ai-driven-earnings-2026-04-21/">writes</a>. The new target suggests a potential upside of about 6.9% relative to Monday's closing level.

Wall Street analysts are raising their 2026-2027 earnings per share forecasts for companies in the S&amp;P 500. What's so special about this? 

The main indexes of American shares only slightly decreased at the end of trading on Monday, April 20, and oil prices rose significantly. Tensions between the U.S. and Iran intensified over the weekend, but traders are betting that the two countries will eventually reach a compromise, CNBC reported. U.S. President Donald Trump said he is unlikely to extend the truce with Tehran, which ends Wednesday, if a peace deal with Tehran is not reached and emphasized that the U.S. will continue to block the Strait of Hormuz until an agreement is signed.

"For the market, the war is over": US stocks down slightly 2 days before truce expires

U.S. stock indices began trading on April 20 in the red zone: after the de-escalation of the situation in the Middle East last week and the subsequent records of the S&amp;P 500 and Nasdaq Composite, fears that the ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran may be broken intensified over the weekend, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/us-stock-futures-fall-after-rally-mideast-tensions-flare-2026-04-20/">writes</a> Reuters.

One step forward, two back: US indices retreat from highs amid escalation in Iran

Shell plc

BP p.l.c.

Ryanair Holdings plc

Some strategists warn of correction risks in the U.S. stock market, while others believe that the peak of risk aversion on Wall Street has already passed

"Back to square one": analysts - on what the market has come to after 50 days of war

NVIDIA Corporation

Microsoft Corporation

Amazon.com, Inc.

Broadcom Inc.

Apple Inc.

Alphabet Inc.

Meta Platforms, Inc.

More than half of the recent record growth of the S&amp;P 500 provided only seven major technology companies - among them Nvidia, Apple and Amazon, <a href="http://bloomberg">noted</a> Bloomberg. In recent weeks, they have collectively increased their market capitalization by about $4 trillion, the agency <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-04-19/big-tech-s-4-trillion-boomerang-powers-s-p-500-to-new-heights">calculated</a>.

Bigtechs are up $4 tlrn on the back of S&amp;P 500 records. Will the rally continue?

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

Expedia Group, Inc.

Airbnb, Inc.

APA Corporation

Valero Energy Corporation

Occidental Petroleum Corporation

Exxon Mobil Corporation

Chevron Corporation

The S&amp;P 500, Nasdaq Composite and Russel 2000 indexes hit new records on Friday after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz "fully open" to commercial shipping and U.S. President Donald Trump said Tehran also agreed to suspend its nuclear program. Oil prices collapsed despite the U.S. military maintaining a blockade of Iranian ports and Iranian media saying passage through the strait will remain closed to "unfriendly countries."

U.S. indexes soar, Nasdaq Composite has longest streak of gains in more than 30 years

The dollar, which has become a major defensive asset since the start of the U.S. conflict with Iran, has pulled back to pre-war levels 