S&P 500, Nasdaq set for biggest monthly gains since 2020
April 30, 2026By Caroline Valetkevitch and Marc Jones
April 29, 20269:56 PM EDTUpdated 1 hour ago
Item 1 of 2 Futures-options traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange’s NYSE American (AMEX) in New York City, U.S., April 17, 2026. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
[1/2]Futures-options traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange’s NYSE American (AMEX) in New York City, U.S., April 17, 2026. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
- Summary
- Companies
- Brent tumbles after reaching a four-year high
- ECB and BoE both hold rates in Europe
- Global bond yields drop
- Apple results due later on Thursday on Wall Street
NEW YORK/LONDON, April 30 (Reuters) – Global bond yields fell and major stock indexes gained on Thursday as oil prices retreated from four-year highs, while the yen jumped after Japanese authorities were reported to have intervened in foreign exchange markets to support their currency.
U.S. crude fell 2.02% to $104.72 a barrel and Brent fell to $114.03 per barrel, down 3.39% on the day.
Iran said it would respond with “long and painful strikes” on U.S. positions if Washington renewed attacks, and also reasserted its control over the Strait of Hormuz, complicating U.S. plans for a coalition to reopen the waterway.
ECB and Bank of England kept rates steady. On Wednesday, there was a hawkish shift in tone from the Federal Reserve as it left rates on hold. Three of the U.S. central bank’s board members voted to drop the easing bias in its policy statement in the most divided decision since 1992.
“Yields are moving lower because the price of oil is coming down. That’s helping stocks, as well as some of the earnings reports that were good,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.
Tech-related earnings were mostly strong, with shares of Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab up sharply following a for its cloud unit.
Earnings from iPhone maker Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab are due after the closing bell.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were on course to end April with their biggest gains since 2020.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), opens new tab rose 669.39 points, or 1.37%, to 49,530.40, the S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab rose 30.40 points, or 0.43%, to 7,166.35 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), opens new tab rose 12.65 points, or 0.05%, to 24,685.40.
MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS), opens new tab rose 5.36 points, or 0.50%, to 1,072.92. The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX), opens new tab index rose 1.38%.
The U.S. dollar fell sharply against the yen after Japanese authorities were reported to have intervened in foreign exchange markets to support their currency.
Officials had intervened to buy the yen, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, after it hit its weakest against the dollar since July 2024.
The dollar fell by as much as 3% against the yen to 155.5 yen, making for the largest single-day drop since late December 2024. It was last down 2.36% at 156.51 yen. Against the Japanese yen , the dollar was last down 2.38% at 156.57.
The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes fell 1.8 basis points to 4.398%, from 4.416% late on Wednesday.
The 2-year UK gilt yields were back below 4.5%, while 2-year German yields – which are sensitive to near-term ECB rate changes – looked set to snap an eight-day run on gains.
The day’s earlier swing in oil prices was over 10 percentage points. Brent was last at $113.5 a barrel and down almost 4% having been as high as $126.41 overnight. It is still nearly double the price it started the year at.
On Wednesday, outgoing Chair Jerome Powell confirmed he would stay on as a governor for now to defend the institution’s independence as his successor Kevin Warsh, picked by low-rate advocate U.S. President Donald Trump, moves toward confirmation.
An arrow chart with the title ‘How interest rates have changed among G10 central banks’
Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch and Marc Jones; editing by Timothy Heritage and Nick Zieminski
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
