Morning Note - 04/21/26: Stocks Higher, President Trump Interviewed On CNBC at 8:30 a.m. EDT
Overnight Summary & Early Morning Trading:
The S&P 500 finished Monday lower by -0.24% at 7109.14 from Friday higher by 1.20% at 7126.06.
The S&P 500 sees support now at 7100 from 7000. Resistance is now at 7200 from 7100. In the last month, support has moved from 6300 to 7100.
S&P 500 hit its seventh All-Time Closing High of 2026 on Friday. It had been almost three months from the last new all-time high and now we have had three in a row.
Futures are higher this morning by +23 up by +0.23% at 7171 on the SP 500 at 6:35 a.m. EDT.
Bond Market is higher today on price with the 10-Year Yield at 4.256% from 4.264%.
Executive Summary:
Stocks had a third up week, gaining 4.54%, and up 11.89% in the last three weeks. We are now up 2.12% since the peak in January on the S&P 500.
U.S. moves into Week Nine of its attack on Iran. Key to this week is to see how the U.S. Blockade plays out and negotiations evolve.
Key Events of Note Today:
Economic news of note.
Weekly - API Petroleum Institute Data of note.
Monthly - Retail Sales and Pending Home Sales are out this morning.
Fed Speakers of Note today: We are back into the blackout period for next week’s meeting.
3 & 6 Month Bill Auction at 11:30 a.m. EDT.
President Trump’s schedule:
Participates in Executive Time at 8:00 a.m. EDT.
Holds a live interview with Joe Kernan of CNBC at 8:30 a.m. EDT.
Participates in a Policy Meeting at 1:00 p.m. EDT.
Participates in a Policy Meeting at 3:00 p.m. EDT.
Delivers Remarks to NCAA Collegiate National Champions at 4:00 p.m. EDT.
Participates in a Policy Meeting at 5:00 p.m. EDT.
Notable Earnings Out After The Close:
Beats: WTFC +0.26, BOKF +0.15, ZION +0.14 of note.
Misses: ALK -0.03 of note.
Flat: None of note.
Capital Raises:
IPOs For The Week: None of note.
New IPOs/SPACs launched/News: IPOs Ahead This Week: ELMT EMI NHP XE YSWY.
IPOs Filed/Priced:
Odyssey Therapeutics files IPO prospectus with SEC; Number of shares to be offered and projected price range not yet determined.
Cerebras Systems files IPO prospectus with the SEC; Number of shares to be offered and projected price range not yet determined.
Secondaries Filed Or Priced:
NKTR commences public offering of $250.0 mln of shares of common stock.
AXTI announces public offering of common stock, amount not given.
ANTX files prospectus supplement related to a sales agreement dated April 9, 2026; may offer up to $80 million of common stock.
AMST: FORM S-1 - 2,777,778 Shares of Common Stock and accompanying Warrants to purchase up 2,777,778 Shares of Common Stock.
SPRB Proposed Public Offering of Common Stock and Pre-Funded Warrants.
Notes Filed Or Priced: None of note.
Convertible Offerings Filed or Priced: None of note.
Private Placement: None of note.
Direct Offering: None of note.
Exchangeable Subordinate Voting Shares: None of note.
Private Placements: None of note.
Selling Shareholders: None of note.
Mixed Shelf Offerings:
AXTI files mixed securities shelf offering.
News After The Close:
Low-cost airlines seek temporary federal tax relief to offset higher jet fuel costs amid Iran war fallout. (Reuters)
Lattice Semiconductor (LSCC) announces that it is collaborating with Texas Instruments (TXN) to simplify sensor integration and to scale real-time edge AI systems.
Scorpio Tankers (STNG) announces six vessel sale agreements for $300 million in aggregate.
Uber (UBER) discloses 11.52% stake in Lucid Group (LCID).
Apple (AAPL) announces that Tim Cook will become executive chairman of the board of directors and John Ternus, senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, will become the next CEO, effective on September 1, 2026.
White House Issues Memo related to Development, Manufacturing, and Deployment of Large-Scale Energy and Energy Related Infrastructure. (release)
After the Close 04/20/26: Winners: BBOT +6%, TTAM +4%, AMZN +2.5%
After the Close 04/20/26 Losers: WASH -7%, ALK -5%, BOKF -3%, ZION -2%
Buybacks: None of note.
Executive, Corporate Changes:
KINS extends employment agreement with CEO Meryl Golden.
MGNI CFO David Day to retire; reaffirms Q1 and FY26 guidance.
Apple (AAPL) announces that Tim Cook will become executive chairman of the board of directors and John Ternus, senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, will become the next CEO, effective on September 1, 2026.
AAPL announces that Johny Srouji will become chief hardware officer, effective immediately.
WLK names Jonathan Baksht as CFO; he also will become CFO of Westlake Chemical Partners.
SNAP CFO Derek Andersen to step down; names Doug Hott as its new CFO.
Alaska Air (ALK) suspends FY26 guidance primarily due to ongoing fuel price volatility.
Dividends Announcements or News:
Top Names Ex-Dividend Today: DELL RACE BVN DHC of note.
Top Names Ex-Dividend Tuesday: LOW UBS FMX LEN APA CLX LEVI AGX PAGS JOYY LTC QFIN of note.
What’s Happening This Morning: (as of 7:30 a.m. EDT)
Futures S&P 500 +30, NASDAQ 100 +124, Dow Jones +307. Europe is higher while Asia is higher ex Australia. Bond yield is at 4.256% from 4.264% on the 10-Year. Crude Oil and Brent Crude are lower with Natural Gas lower. Gold, Silver and Copper are lower. The U.S. Dollar is higher versus the Euro, higher against the Pound and higher against the Yen. Bitcoin is at $76,854 from $75,216 higher by 0.74% up by $546 from $75,517 on Monday.
Sector Action:
Daily Positive Sectors: Energy, Industrials, Real Estate and Technology led the way higher.
Daily Negative Sectors: Communication Services, Healthcare, Utilities and Consumer Cyclicals were lower.
One Month Winners: Energy of note.
Three-Month Winners: Energy, Materials, Utilities, Consumer Defensive and Industrials of note.
Six-Month Winners: Energy, Materials, Utilities, Industrials, Healthcare and Consumer Defensive of note.
Twelve-Month Winners: Materials, Energy, Industrials, Utilities, Communication Services and Technology of note.
Year to Date Winners: Energy, Materials, Consumer Defensive, Utilities and Industrials of note.
Bolded means the Sector is new to the period in which it falls.
Upcoming Earnings Of Note: (Erlanger Chartroom Software – sorted by market cap, highest to lowest with most visible names)
Today After the Close:
Wednesday Before The Open:
Notable Earnings of Note This Morning:
Beat: VMI +0.78, UNH +0.65, NTRS +0.39%, RTX +0.27, GE +0.26, EFX +0.17, MMM +0.16, CBSH +0.14, DGX +0.13, DHR +0.12, DHI +0.11, MSCI +0.11, SYF +0.07, VICR +0.07, HAL +0.05 of note. (Greater than 0.05)
Missed: TSCO -0.03 of note.
Flat: None of note.
Still to Report: None of note.
Company Earnings Guidance:
Positive Guidance: After The Close & This Morning - None of note.
Mixed - None of note.
Negative or Mixed Guidance: After The Close & This Morning - None of note.
Advance/Decline Daily Update:
Gap Ups & Down In Early Pre-Market: (+2% or down more than -2%):
GapUp: UNH +5.8%, NKTR +4.6%, TTAM +4.6%, MCB +4%, ONTO +3.4%, CLPT +3.3%, AMZN +2.7%, INVX +2.7%, AEHR +2.6%, LCID +2.5%, BBOT +2.2% of note.
GapDown: SPRB -17.6%, WASH -8.7%, AXTI -6%, ALGT -5.9%, ALK -2.8%, ZION -2% of note.
Insider Action: OKTA sees Insider Buying with dumb short selling. None see Insider Buying with smart short sellers. Above $100,000 in purchases with high shorts but no history: None of note.
Rags & Mags: Repeated stories from prior days never listed, i.e. “rehashed news”. Sorted by Global, U.S. and stock specific.
WSJ Lead Story: The Rise of Apple’s New CEO: A Hardware Expert Takes Over in the AI ERA. (WSJ)
NY Times Lead Story: Trump’s Pick to Lead Fed Will Face Senators at a Tricky Moment. (NYT)
USA Today: McDonald’s Offers New Value Menu at $3. (USA Today)
U.S. Waits on Iran to Confirm Talks. (Bloomberg)
Bank of Japan Leans to Hold in April but staying Hawkish. (Bloomberg)
Economic & Geopolitical:
Federal Reserve Speakers of note today: Now in blackout period until next week’s FOMC meeting.
President Trump’s schedule for today:
Participates in Executive Time at 8:00 a.m. EDT.
Holds a live interview with Joe Kernan of CNBC at 8:30 a.m. EDT.
Participates in a Policy Meeting at 1:00 p.m. EDT.
Participates in a Policy Meeting at 3:00 p.m. EDT.
Delivers Remarks to NCAA Collegiate National Champions at 4:00 p.m. EDT.
Participates in a Policy Meeting at 5:00 p.m. EDT.
Economic Data Out -
Weekly -
API Petroleum Institute Data out at 4:30 p.m. EDT.
Monthly -
March Retail Sales are due out at 8:30 a.m. EDT and is expected to rise to 1.30% from 0.60%.
March Pending Home Sales are due out at 10:00 a.m. EDT and are expected to fall to 0.50% from 1.80%.
M&A Activity & Daily: None of note.
Moving Average Table: 100% from 100% of Equities are Positive, and 72% from 72% Bonds are Positive.
Meeting & Conferences of Note:
Sellside Conferences:
Maxim Industrial Supply Chain Conference
Top Analyst, Investor: ADBE DCBO GPUS NXL of note.
Shareholder Meetings: CHTR DDOG DPZ FITB FSS KKR PEG USB WHR of note.
Fireside Chat: None of note.
FDA Presentation: None of note.
R&D Day: None of note.
Meetings:
AACR Annual Meeting through Apr. 22
Adobe Summit
American Academy of Neurology Meeting
Bloom Burton Healthcare Investor Conference
Upgrades & Downgrades:
The recommendations listed below in this “Upgrade/Downgrade” section are compiled from what we believe are Tier I, II and III firms. Recommendations posted are taken from a variety of sources each day and we only post upgrades or significant initiations as well as downgrades to underweight or sell. The purpose of this posting is to make the reader aware of market-moving recommendations.
Upgrades: BORR CL of note.
Downgrades GPK VLO of note.