S&P 500 logs best month since 2020 despite Iran oil shock

3 min readUpdated May 1, 2026

Wall Street closed out its strongest month in more than five years on Thursday, with the S&P 500 climbing 1% to a record close of 7,209.01 as earnings from Google and Caterpillar pushed stocks higher for a fourth consecutive week.

The S&P 500 gained 10.4% in April, its best monthly performance since November 2020. The Nasdaq rose 15.3% over the same period — its strongest month since April 2020 — while the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 7.1%, its biggest monthly gain since November 2024. On Thursday alone, the Dow added 790.33 points, or 1.62%, to close at 49,652.14, and the Nasdaq gained 0.89% to finish at 24,892.31.

Trump vows new tariffs on the E.U. after Brussels fines Google $1 billion

Not all of the major tech results drove gains. Meta stock fell 8.7% and Microsoft stock dropped 3.9% after both companies raised their capital expenditure forecasts, stoking investor concern over the return on AI infrastructure spending. Amazon stock edged up 0.8%.

"Something that we're going to keep wrestling with until we know one way or the other is: Does this AI spend at some point turn into software-like margins, or does it not really and we need to rethink those multiples," Tom Graff, Facet's chief investment officer, told CNBC.

The monthly rally came despite significant turbulence in oil markets tied to the ongoing conflict with Iran. Tehran has shut the Strait of Hormuz to tanker traffic, leaving vessels stranded inside the Persian Gulf, as a U.S. Navy blockade has severed Iran's ability to move its oil to export markets. Overnight, a lightly traded June delivery contract for Brent crude briefly surpassed $126 a barrel before retreating. The more widely traded July contract climbed to $114.70 at its session high, then gave back most of those gains to close at $110.40, little changed on the day. The highest price recorded for a front-month Brent contract at any point since the war's outbreak was $119.50, reached last month.

Tensions remained high. According to Reuters, Tehran warned of consequences if Washington leaves the ceasefire and resumes fighting. Senior military leaders were preparing to give Trump options for possible action against Iran. The Wall Street Journal, citing U.S. officials, said Trump told aides to get ready for a longer blockade of Iran.

Economic data was mixed. The Commerce Department said GDP grew at a 2% annual rate in the first quarter, up from 0.5% in the last quarter of 2025 but still below what economists expected. Unemployment claims dropped last week, showing the labor market remains strong. The 10-year Treasury yield slipped to 4.38% from 4.42% on Wednesday.

Wall Street just had its best month since 2020 as earnings drowned out the Iran oil shock

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