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To:Brew Readers
Brew Markets // Morning Brew // Update
Plus, the EV push is underway.

Good afternoon. It’s a simple question, but a good one: Why do stocks keep going up?

Morgan Stanley has a simple answer, but a good one: Despite geopolitical upheaval, higher oil prices, and consumer consternation, earnings remain the driving force behind the stock market. This reporting season has been extremely healthy, with Goldman Sachs noting that only 5% of S&P 500 companies have missed earnings estimates, the smallest percentage in 25 years except for the 2021 post-Covid period.

Over 75% of S&P 500 companies have reported Q1 2026 results, and another 11% deliver their numbers this week. Even as headlines from the Middle East roil markets, as long as companies keep delivering earnings beats, expect stocks to keep grinding higher.

Lucy Brewster, Sissy Yan & Mark Reeth

In today’s newsletter, we’ve got plenty to talk about:

  • Meet the comeback kids
  • Amazon’s shaking things up
  • EVs are stealing the spotlight

MARKETS

Nasdaq

25,326.13

S&P

7,259.22

Dow

49,298.25

10-Year

4.416%

Oil

$102.77

VIX

17.44

Data is provided by

*Stock data as of market close. Here's what these numbers mean.

  • Stocks: Reports that commercial vessels have begun to trickle through the Strait of Hormuz under US protection helped ease investor fears of rising tensions in the Middle East. The S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Russell 2000 all closed at record highs.
  • Commodities: Brent, the international crude standard, and WTI, the US version, fell as the US said the ceasefire with Iran remains in place, though both benchmarks are still well above $100 per barrel.
  • Fear: The CBOE Volatility Index fell today as optimism continues to climb. A reading above 20 indicates high uncertainty, while anything below 20 points to calming nerves.
 
   
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