Morning Preview: April 16, 2026

Early Look

Thursday, April 16, 2026

U.S. futures are looking higher, with new record highs on tap for the S&P 500, Nasdaq and Semiconductor Index (SOX) as investors hold on to hope for peace in the Middle East and seem poised to build the recent winning streak that has been primarily led by technology stocks. The benchmark S&P 500 (SPX) closed at a fresh record high of 7,022.93 points, ending +0.8% on Wednesday while the heavy-tech Nasdaq Composite also ended at the record of 24,016.02 points, +1.6%, marking an amazing 11-day winning streak, the longest since 2020. Reports surfaced that the U.S. and Iran may have made significant progress towards a framework agreement to end the war, but overall, market momentum has remained to the upside after the 10% pullback off highs seen in March. Of note regarding the market 11 day rally to record highs, @jasongoepfert noted on “X”, The S&P closed at a record high for the 1st time in a month. Less than 5% of its stocks came along with it. That’s among the worst participation since 1928. It’s actually the 3rd-lowest ever, next to March 2000 and November 2020.” Global markets are also surging as in Asian markets, The Nikkei Index closed at a new record high, rising 2.4%, or 1,384 points to 59,518.34, above the all-time peak of 58,850.27 marked on Feb. 27. The Nikkei is just 0.8% away from the 60,000 milestone eyed by investors. The Shanghai Index gained 28 points to 4,055, and the Hang Seng Index advanced 446 points to 26,394. In Europe, the German DAX is up 114 points to 24,180, while the FTSE 100 is up 48 points to 10,608. Regarding Iran, mediators push for further talks and an extension of the cease-fire between the U.S. and Iran. After a first round of talks in Pakistan, the two countries agreed in principle to meet but haven’t decided on a date or venue. The US and Iran are considering a two-week ceasefire extension according to reports. Oil prices are higher around.  

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell -72.27 points, or 0.15%, to 48,463.72
• The Nasdaq Composite jumped 376.93 points, or 1.59%, to 24,016.02
• The Russell 2000 Index advanced 7.99 points, or 0.30% to 2,713.66

• 8:30 AM ET                  Continuing Claims…est. 1.81M
• 8:30 AM ET                  Philly Fed Business Index for April…est. 10.0 (prior 18.1)
• 9:15 AM ET                  Industrial Production M/M for March…est. +0.1%
• 9:15 AM ET                  Capacity Utilization for March…est. 76.3%
• 10:30 AM ET                Weekly EIA Natural Gas Inventory Data

• Earnings After the Close: AA FNB INDB LAKE NFLX SFNC

• Pepsi Co (PEP) Q1 core EPS $1.61 tops consensus $1.58 while revs rose 8.5% y/y to $19.44B, consensus $18.94B; Volumes rose in the North America foods business, driven by the recent price cuts; North America foods category volume grew 2% in the reported three-month period, compared with a 1% drop in the fourth quarter; affirms fiscal 2026 guidance, expecting organic revenue growth of 2-4%.

• JB Hunt (JBHT) Q1 EPS $1.49 tops consensus $1.44; Q1 revs rose 5% y/y to $3.06B vs. consensus $2.95B; Q1 net income $141.6M vs. est. $136.6M; Q1 Operating income for the current quarter increased 16% to $207M; Intermodal volume increased 3% over the same period in 2025; Q1 Segment gross revenue increased 2% for the current quarter versus the prior-year period primarily driven by the 3% increase in loads.
• PPG Industries (PPG) said expects Q1 to exceed previous guidance as sees adj EPS $1.83 vs. est. $1.71; announces global price increase of up to 20% already in progress; expects Q2 organic sales and adj EPS flat to low single-digit growth year over year.
• Voyager Technologies (VOYG) said it has signed an order with NASA for the seventh Private Astronaut Mission to the International Space Station, launching no earlier than 2028. The seventh private astronaut mission, called VOYG-1, supports NASA’s strategy to transition low-Earth orbit operations to the private sector.
• Nuclear (SMR, NNE, OKLO) and uranium companies are set to extend this week’s rally after the White House released rules for establishing a National Initiative for American Space Nuclear Power.

• KeyCorp (KEY) Q1 EPS $0.44 vs. est. $0.41; Q1 revs $1.95B vs. est. $1.94B; Q1 CET1 ratio 11.4%; sees FY26 revs up 7%, sees FY26 net interest income up 9%-10%; sees FY26 average loans up 2% – 4%.
• SL Green Realty (SLG) reports Q1 FFO $0.84 vs. consensus $1.06 as revs rose 5.5% y/y to $253.08M; Manhattan same-store office occupancy increased to 94.4% as of March 31; reaffirms its previously announced 2026 FFO guidance range of FFO of $4.40 to $4.70 per share, with a midpoint of $4.55 per share vs consensus of $4.58.
• Verisk (VRSK) said U.S. insurance claims declined in 2025, helped by a quiet hurricane season. Homeowners’ claims were down 19% y/y to 5.27M in 2025, while commercial property claims dropped to 710,000 from 910,000 in 2023, according to Verisk’s annual Insurance Claims Trends Report. Personal auto claims declined to 31.6 million in 2025, extending a fall from a 2022 peak of 34.4 million, while commercial auto claims slipped 5% to 1.84 million, even though the commercial auto claim volume remained 14% above 2021 levels.

• CareDx (CDNA) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to divest its Lab Products business to EuroBio Scientific for cash consideration of $170M; guides prelim Q1 revenue roughly $118M, above consensus $102.49M and prelim Q1 Testing Service Volume roughly 54,900, up 17% y/y.
• Nkarta (NKTX) announced that it has reached agreement with the FDA on key changes to the ongoing Ntrust-1 and Ntrust-2 clinical trials.
• QuidelOrtho (QDEL) guided Q1 revenue $615M-$620M, below consensus $679.59M saying the prelim unaudited revenue was primarily driven by a weaker respiratory season, with U.S. Influenza-like Illness visits down by approximately 30% y/y, along with slower China distributor sales that the company believes is related to the proposed China National Health Security Administration reimbursement rate reductions.
• Savara (SVRA) announced that the FDA has extended the review period for the molgramostim BLA in autoimmune PAP by three months.

• Google (GOOGL) should allow third-party search engines access to data, the European Commission said, including ⁠that of artificial intelligence chatbots with search functionalities.
• Quantum computing shares (IONQ, RGTI, QBTS, QMCO) are on track to extend gains for a third consecutive session after Nvidia unveiled a suite of new open-source AI models aimed at accelerating progress within quantum computing.