Wall Street Daily (April 15): US stocks rebounded across the board on Tuesday, with risk appetite significantly restored. Growth/technology was the main trading theme; oil prices quickly gave back the 'war premium,' while gold moved independently.

Summary: On Tuesday, US stocks closed higher across the board, with the S&P 500 Index rising 1.18%, and the Nasdaq leading the way with a 1.96% increase. The Dow Jones Industrial Average saw a relatively moderate rise of 0.66%. The small-cap Russell 2000 Index strengthened, climbing 1.32%. The VIX volatility index fell by 3.97% to 18.36, indicating stabilizing market sentiment. The technology sector performed actively against the backdrop of easing tensions in the Middle East, with NVIDIA driving semiconductor stocks higher collectively. Overall, the market showed a short-term preference for growth and technology as the dominant trading themes. In terms of major asset classes, gold rose 2.10% supported by safe-haven demand, while crude oil plummeted 6.06% due to expectations of peace; Bitcoin saw minor consolidation, falling slightly by 0.81%.

I. Major Events

1. Expectations of easing in the Middle East led to a rise in market optimism.

Market sentiment was boosted by the prospect of a US-Iran ceasefire, with traders leaning towards a more 'stabilizing' outlook for regional developments. Under this expectation, capital acceptance of risk assets recovered, causing major indices to rebound collectively. Meanwhile, heavyweight technology stocks outperformed, showing clear signs of capital flowing back into growth sectors, which pushed tech-related assets to maintain upward momentum.

2. Energy prices adjusted significantly, giving back the 'war premium'

The oil prices previously elevated by geopolitical risks quickly gave back the 'war premium.' After concerns about escalating conflict eased, prices fell sharply. Crude oil dropped 6.06% on the day, making it the most significant decliner among major asset classes. The drop in oil prices also directly weighed on the energy sector's performance, with related stocks and the overall sector showing weak momentum.

3. Gold's safe-haven function continues to be recognized by the market

Despite a slight easing of geopolitical tensions, gold did not weaken, as capital allocation remained inclined to hedge against uncertainty. Logically, gold serves both as a safe-haven asset and an inflation hedge, allowing it to remain resilient even as risk sentiment improved. Gold prices rose 2.10% on the day, maintaining independent strength despite a rebound in equities.

II. Major Trends

Over the past two weeks, the Nasdaq-related ETF QQQ led with an 8.91% gain, indicating the strongest short-term rebound in the tech sector. The small-cap ETF IWM accumulated a 2.28% gain over three months, outperforming the industrial sector DIA, which recorded negative growth during the same period. The large-cap SPY showed resilience, rising 6.78% over two weeks, significantly outpacing the equal-weight index RSP’s 4.03%, reflecting a market preference for concentrating positions in large-cap stocks. Additionally, although most indices performed weakly over the past three months, they all rebounded strongly in the short term, with SPYG posting a 10.25% gain, highlighting the rotation toward growth stocks. MAGS rebounded nearly 10% within two weeks, underscoring the influence of leading tech stocks on market sentiment.

III. Market Sentiment

Overall market sentiment continued to ease, with the VIX fear index falling 3.97% to 18.36, indicating reduced investor concern about short-term volatility. The CNN Fear & Greed Index edged up to 47 from 43 the previous day, showing that market sentiment was gradually returning from fear to neutral-positive. The CBOE total Put/Call ratio dropped to 0.7981 from 0.8569 the previous day, signaling stronger demand for call options. Taken together, these indicators suggest declining sensitivity to risk events and renewed willingness to allocate funds to risk assets.

IV. Market Scan

1. Index ETFsThe Nasdaq ETF QQQ led with a 1.82% gain, the strongest performer among the four major index ETFs, reflecting heightened interest in the technology sector. The S&P ETF SPY rose 1.22%, while the small-cap ETF IWM also gained strength, climbing 1.38%, showing increased attention to small-cap growth. The Dow ETF DIA saw limited gains at just 0.70%, with industrial-related weightings still showing weak elasticity. Overall, the market favored growth and technology as the dominant trading themes in the short term.

2. Sector PerformanceThe consumer discretionary sector XLY led with a 2.21% gain, driving strong performances in leading stocks like Tesla. The technology sector XLK rose 1.60%, maintaining upward momentum driven by NVIDIA and other leaders. The communication services sector XLC climbed 1.52%, showing solid performance. In contrast, the energy sector XLE fell 2.03% due to a sharp pullback in oil prices, ranking last among major sectors.

3. Seven tech giantsMETA surged 4.41%, the strongest performance, reflecting sustained market interest in social platforms and related concepts. NVIDIA rose 3.80%, continuing to drive activity in the semiconductor chain. Google climbed 3.56%, while Tesla and Netflix rose 3.34% and 3.02%, respectively, performing well overall. Microsoft gained 2.27%, and MAGS advanced 3.00%, indicating a phase of recovery in heavyweight tech stocks. Apple, however, dipped 0.14%, becoming one of the few underperformers.

4. Chinese EquitiesJD.com surged 7.98%, leading Chinese stocks with the most outstanding performance. Baidu rose 5.55%, Futu and Tencent Music gained 3.47% and 3.18%, respectively, and Alibaba climbed 2.61%, showing strong overall momentum. KWEB and Bilibili also rebounded 2.26% and 2.17%, respectively, supported by improving risk appetite. Chinese stocks broadly received support in this environment.

5. CryptocurrenciesThe latest Bitcoin quote edged down 0.81%, which appears to be a short-term consolidation following the substantial gains from the previous day. Cryptocurrency-related stocks showed mixed performance, with Robinhood surging 10.35%, becoming the standout in the sector for the day. Mining company Marathon saw a modest increase of 1.25%, maintaining overall stability. In general, the rhythm within the cryptocurrency sector varied, and individual stock performances were not entirely in sync with Bitcoin's intraday fluctuations.

$S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ $SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY.US)$ $NASDAQ 100 Index (.NDX.US)$ $Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ.US)$ $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ $State Street® SPDR® Dow Jones Industrial Average® ETF Trust (DIA.US)$ $Russell 2000 Index (.RUT.US)$ $iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM.US)$ $Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (MAGS.US)$ $USD (USDindex.FX)$ $U.S. 10-Year Treasury Notes Yield (US10Y.BD)$ $iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT.US)$ $XAU/USD (XAUUSD.CFD)$ $SPDR Gold ETF (GLD.US)$ $CBOE Volatility S&P 500 Index (.VIX.US)$ $Bitcoin (BTC.CC)$ $BTC/USD (BTCUSD.CC)$ $Ethereum (ETH.CC)$ $ETH/USD (ETHUSD.CC)$ $iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA.US)$ $NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$ $Tesla (TSLA.US)$ $Meta Platforms (META.US)$ $Amazon (AMZN.US)$ $Alphabet-C (GOOG.US)$ $Microsoft (MSFT.US)$ $Apple (AAPL.US)$

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