The market moved to session lows after news Trump formally rejected Iran’s offer, and now the military has prepared for a “short wave of strikes” against Iran.

Energy (XLE) is the only sector in green supported from a rising price of oil. Crude oil is on pace for its highest close in more than three weeks.

Today is Powell’s last FOMC press conference as Fed Chair. So far, Fed Funds Futures are looking for no cuts this year, and only one cut in 2027 in December.

After the close four members of the “Magnificent Seven”: Alphabet (GOOG/L), Amazon (AMZN), Meta Platforms (META), and Microsoft (MSFT) are set to report. The Street is looking for evidence the heavy spending on AI is translating into meaningful revenue growth.

Economic Data

March Durable Goods orders rose 0.8% M/M, surpassing consensus of +0.5% and well above February’s -1.2%. Orders ex-transportation rose slightly by 0.9% M/M from +1.2% in February, surpassing consensus of +0.4%.

Core capital goods orders rose 3.3% M/M in March, seeing its biggest gain since 2020. Shipments – which feed into GDP, also strengthened to +0.5% M/M overall, and +1.2% excluding aircraft.

Housing Starts saw the strongest gain since December 2024, while permits weakened.

• March Housing Starts +10.8% M/M vs. prior -3%
• March Building Permits -10.8% M/M vs. prior +10.9%