1. THE BIG PICTURE
What a week. The S&P 500 surged 3.3% to close at a record 7,126, punching through the 7,100 level for the first time in history. The Nasdaq Composite rallied an eye-popping 5.2% to finish at 24,468, capping its 13th consecutive winning session — a streak not seen since 1992. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.8% to close at 49,447, and the Russell 2000 climbed 2.1% to 2,776, with small caps joining the party at fresh highs.
The dominant narrative was unmistakable: geopolitical relief met tech-driven momentum, and the result was a broad, powerful rally. On Friday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared the Strait of Hormuz “completely open” to all commercial shipping during the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, sending oil prices into free fall and equities surging. The VIX (CBOE Volatility Index, a widely followed gauge of expected market turbulence over the next 30 days) dropped to 17.48, reflecting the rapid evaporation of risk premium that had built up during weeks of Middle East tension.