US stocks delivered an extraordinary performance in April 2026, with the S&P 500 closing at a fresh record high and posting its strongest monthly gain since 2020. The benchmark index rose 14.2% from its March 30 low, adding approximately $8.1 trillion in market value over 23 trading days. The Nasdaq Composite surged 15.29% in April, its best monthly performance since April 2020, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average also recorded its largest monthly advance since November 2024.
The rally was driven by robust corporate earnings from Big Tech companies, with Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), and Microsoft (MSFT) all beating revenue expectations and reporting strong cloud performance. Alphabet jumped 10% after earnings and finished April up 34%, its strongest month since October 2004. Amazon gained 27% for the month, boosted by its cloud performance. Apple and Microsoft also posted gains, though Meta Platforms fell 9% on Thursday after announcing increased capital spending, but still ended the month nearly 7% higher. Collectively, these technology giants invested about $130 billion in data centers as they scale up AI capabilities.
Chip stocks had an even more dramatic month, driven by AI demand. Broadcom (AVGO) gained 35%, Qualcomm (QCOM) jumped nearly 40%, Micron Technology (MU) climbed 53%, and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) surged 74%. Nvidia (NVDA) rose about 14%, its strongest month since June. Intel (INTC) was the standout, with shares doubling in April—its best month in 55 years—as traders responded positively to its turnaround strategy and stronger-than-expected earnings. Bank of America expects the CPU market to more than double by 2030 as agentic AI spreads.
The PHLX Semiconductor Index jumped 38.4% in April. The communications-services sector surged 18.4%, with Alphabet's shares rising 33.8%. The information-technology sector climbed 17.4%.
The rally occurred despite significant headwinds from geopolitics and inflation. Brent crude climbed above $125 a barrel on Thursday and briefly touched $120, marking a four-year high, as a naval blockade disrupted supply routes amid the ongoing conflict involving Iran. US gasoline prices surged to about $4.30 per gallon, up 27 cents in a week, according to AAA. Yields on the 10-year US Treasury note were at 4.39%.
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady this week. Chair Jerome Powell warned that sustained increases in oil prices could ripple across the economy: “People are going to start to feel that.” Economists at Oxford Economics expect inflation to remain elevated, with higher energy costs and lingering tariff effects straining consumers. Investors reduced their bets on Fed rate cuts this year due to rising energy costs.
Asian markets were mixed amid the May Day holiday. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.74%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.28%, and South Korea's KOSPI dropped 1.38%. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.38%. The yen firmed to 156.56 per dollar after reports of Tokyo intervening to support the currency following a drop to 160.72, its weakest in two years.
Citi raised its rating on US stock markets to overweight versus other regions. Beata Manthey, Citi's head of global equities strategy, noted “tech is carrying the weight” of the wider market. Paul Nolte, senior wealth adviser at Murphy & Sylvest, added “Until we see some changes to the market dynamic, as well as the economy, the momentum is on the bullish side.”
