Weekly Market Commentary: Stocks Rise on Optimism that Energy Flows Improve

Sunflower Bank Weekly Market Commentary: April 6, 2026

Each week, our Wealth Management team analyzes the U.S. stock market and bond market activity and news of the previous week, summarizing their findings into a weekly market update report. The key points of this week's commentary, "Stocks Rise on Optimism that Energy Flows Improve," include:

• Equity markets rose last week, snapping a streak of five consecutive weekly declines. The S&P 500 increased 3.4%, the Nasdaq 100 rose +4.0%, and the Russell 2000 gained +3.3%. Stocks rose on optimism that transit through the Strait could improve. Reports that some ships have been able to pass through the Strait after striking deals with the Iranian government has boosted investors appetite for risk.
• Although stocks have staged a bounce, the price of crude oil continues to rise. Front-month WTI futures posted the largest one-day percentage increase in almost a month. While equity markets proved resilient last week, a sustained period of oil prices at this elevated level will have real impacts on economic activity and corporate profitability.
• On the balance, labor data released last week was mixed. JOLTS data came in below expectations but the March Jobs Report provided a more encouraging read on the labor market.
• The week ahead includes the first few corporate earnings reports of the 1Q26 reporting season. Analysts are expecting another quarter of double-digit year-over-year EPS growth.

  
  

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