Wall Street Daily (April 23): US stocks hit new highs again on Wednesday, market sentiment continued to recover, still torn between strong earnings reports and geopolitical risks; tech heavyweights led the gains, with both crude oil and Bitcoin rising

Summary: US stocks continued to rise on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 up 1.05%, Nasdaq up 1.64%, Dow Jones up 0.69%, and Russell 2000 up 0.74%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit new highs, with the Nasdaq clearly leading. The VIX fell to 18.82, a decrease of 3.49% from the previous day, indicating that market sentiment continued to recover but was not "completely off guard." The main theme of trading that day remained a tug-of-war between two forces: on one side were strong earnings from companies like GEV and Boston Scientific, driving capital to chase technology and growth; on the other side was another ship attack in the Strait of Hormuz, where the extension of the ceasefire did not truly reduce risk. In terms of market performance, tech heavyweights continued to lead, while interest-rate-sensitive sectors such as real estate lagged, with equal-weighted indices significantly underperforming market-cap-weighted ones. In major asset classes, the US Dollar Index rose by 0.23%, gold increased by 0.44%, crude oil surged by 2.94%, and Bitcoin climbed by 3.91%.

I. Major Events

1. Another ship attack occurred in the Strait of Hormuz, with the extended ceasefire failing to bring true easing

Iran fired at three merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday and seized two of them. This incident occurred after Trump announced an indefinite extension of the ceasefire but maintained the blockade. The incremental focus for the market is not whether the ceasefire statement remains, but rather that security in the strait has deteriorated again, negotiations remain deadlocked, and Iran explicitly lists lifting the blockade as a precondition for talks. This means that the Middle East situation remains in a state of 'outwardly intact but essentially tense,' within a highly uncertain range. Correspondingly, in the markets, oil prices continued to rise, and risky assets could only bet on earnings realization while staying vigilant about geopolitical variables.

2. Earnings reports from GEV and Boston Scientific have brought earnings verification back to the forefront

GE Vernova's Q1 revenue rose to $9.3 billion, with free cash flow increasing to $4.8 billion, and it raised its full-year revenue and free cash flow guidance. Boston Scientific reported $5.203 billion in revenue and $0.80 in adjusted EPS, raising its full-year EPS guidance to $3.34-$3.41. The two companies represent the AI electric infrastructure chain and high-quality healthcare growth sectors, respectively. Their commonality lies in using data to clarify certainty. This also explains why, despite high oil prices and unresolved geopolitical risks, the market is still willing to give more pricing power to large-cap tech and growth assets, pushing the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to new closing highs.

II. Major Trends

The most prominent trend on Wednesday was the continued dominance of technology heavyweights driving index gains. QQQ surged 1.68% in a single day, significantly outperforming DIA's 0.71% and IWM's 0.73%. Over a two-week and three-month horizon, QQQ rose 11.31% and 6.44%, respectively, continuing to lead DIA's 6.26% and 1.22%. Investors are still willing to pay a premium for large-cap tech and growth sectors with stronger profit realization capabilities and more complete narratives.

The second trend is that index highs and market breadth recovery are not happening simultaneously. SPY rose 1.04%, but RSP edged down 0.02%, indicating that Wednesday’s gains were mainly driven by large-cap stocks and did not spread to an equal-weight rally. Sentiment is improving, but funds are still inclined toward 'concentrated bets' rather than indiscriminate inflows. The third trend is that growth continues to outpace value. SPYG climbed 1.77%, while SPYV gained only 0.17%; MAGS rose 1.62%, and XMAG increased by 0.82%. The market is not switching from defense to full-on offense; it seems more like reallocating positions to high-quality growth and leading tech companies amid unresolved Middle East risks.

III. Market Sentiment

Market sentiment continues to improve but has not returned to extreme optimism. VIX closed at 18.82, down 3.49% from the previous trading day, reflecting a significant decline in protective demand but not yet returning to the calmer lows of recent weeks. The CNN Fear & Greed Index stood at 68, unchanged from the previous reading, indicating sentiment remains in a moderately optimistic range but hasn’t further intensified due to new index highs.

The structure in the options market also reveals a 'bullish but cautious' mindset. The latest Cboe total Put/Call ratio is 0.73, with the equity Put/Call at 0.58, indicating a rebound in aggressive positioning at the stock level. However, the index Put/Call remains at 1.19, showing that institutions are retaining hedges against systemic risks even as they bet on upside. Overall, market sentiment is warming but is far from a one-sided, worry-free bullish environment.

IV. Market Scan

1. Index ETFs

Among index ETFs, QQQ rose 1.68%, making it the strongest performer of the day, while DIA climbed 0.71%, the weakest in its group. SPY gained 1.04%, also in a clearly strong range. This structure suggests that Wednesday’s rally was not led by traditional cyclical and value sectors reclaiming market control, but rather by tech heavyweights continuing to act as the engine. Although small caps followed, their pace and strength lagged significantly.

2. Sector Performance

Sector-wise, XLK surged 2.21%, taking a clear lead, while XLRE fell 0.71%, becoming the weakest sector. Additionally, XLC rose 0.64%, XLP gained 0.31%, XLV increased by 0.29%, XLF dropped 0.18%, XLI declined 0.25%, XLU fell 0.22%, and XLY remained nearly flat. Capital continues to chase sectors like tech and communications that are more easily supported by profitability and AI narratives. In contrast, interest-rate-sensitive sectors such as real estate remain under pressure due to multiple constraints.

3. Seven tech giants

Within the seven major tech names, large-cap leaders continue to set the pace. Apple surged 2.61%, the strongest in the group, while Google rose 2.20% and Microsoft gained 2.06%, both in the first tier. Tesla, however, rose only 0.28%, lagging significantly. While the tech narrative remains intact, capital is still making choices within this theme, favoring platform leaders and stocks with stronger earnings certainty.

4. Chinese Equities

Chinese ADRs have not formed a unified direction, with performance more characterized by divergence and rotation. PDD Holdings rose 1.07%, Alibaba gained 0.76%, and JD.com increased by 0.31%, relatively strong performers. On the other hand, Bilibili fell 2.53%, NetEase dropped 1.32%, and Futu declined 1.19%, remaining weak. Compared to the coordinated rise of US-listed heavyweight tech stocks, Chinese ADRs reflect more internal capital flow dynamics, lacking a unifying pricing narrative in the short term.

5. Cryptocurrencies

The cryptocurrency sector regained strength. Bitcoin surged 3.91%, while MSTR skyrocketed 9.30%, RIOT jumped 6.03%, MARA rose 5.25%, COIN gained 5.20%, and CRCL surged 8.70%. This performance indicates that the recovery in risk appetite is no longer confined to index levels but is spilling over into high-beta, high-volatility assets. However, overall, this move appears to be an extension of the broader environment favoring 'tech and growth,' rather than a signal that macro and geopolitical risks have been fully resolved.

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

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