Weekly Market Commentary April 13th to April 17th 2026
Market data faded into the background as equities surged to fresh all-time highs during the week. The ongoing cease-fire announced on April 7, along with the conditional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, helped bolster market sentiment. Meanwhile, beneath the surface, investors digested new releases on housing activity, producer inflation, and weekly jobless claims.
Existing Home Sales declined in March to their lowest level since June, underscoring the persistent headwinds facing the housing market. Sales fell to an annualized pace of 3.98 million units, a 3.6% drop from the prior month. Mortgage rates have risen sharply since late February, exacerbating ongoing affordability challenges. In response, the National Association of Realtors significantly reduced its existing home sales forecast for 2026, cutting expectations from 14% growth to just 4%. With spring traditionally marking the peak selling season, the impact of elevated mortgage rates on buyer demand will be a key area to monitor in the months ahead.
Producer inflation increased sharply in March, rising 0.5% on the month and 4.0% year over year, as measured by the Producer Price Index (PPI). Excluding food and energy, core PPI rose a more modest 0.1% for the month and 3.8% annually. While both headline and core readings came in below expectations, the broader trend remains less encouraging. Headline PPI has been trending higher since 2024 and has now reached its fastest pace of growth since 2023.
Initial Jobless Claims decreased 11,000 to 207,000 in the week ending April 11th. The data suggests the labor market is stabilizing as separate figures released earlier this month showed job growth rebounded in March and the unemployment rate fell.
Equity markets continued their weekly winning streak, smashing through to all-time highs for all indices except the Dow Jones Industrials. The Nasdaq finished it’s 13th consecutive daily gain, closing at a record 24,468 and up 6.8% for the week. The S&P 500 gained 4.5% to a record 7,126, and the Dow Jones Industrials gained 3.2% to 49,447. U.S. Treasury yields fell on the week with the 2-Year closing at 3.70% and the 10-Year closing at 4.24%.
Next week we will get data on retail sales, manufacturing, and services.
