No Fooling Around Here. Markets shrugged off their March slump and kicked off April on a strong note, with all three major indexes extending their Tuesday gains into Wednesday.

The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 225 points, or 0.5%. The S&P 500 increased 0.7%, driven by enthusiasm around memory and data storage stocks. Western Digital, Sandisk, and Seagate Technology were among the S&P’s top gainers.

Investors were reacting to more signs that the Trump administration is looking to wind down operations in Iran, as well as stronger-than-expected economic data that pointed to resilient consumer spending and job growth. Equities may also have gotten a small April Fool’s bump—the S&P 500 has averaged a gain of nearly 0.3% on April 1 going back to its inception, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

Whether the rally continues through the holiday-shortened week may hinge on President Donald Trump’s speech, scheduled for 9 p.m. ET tonight. White House officials say the president will update viewers on the operation in the Middle East and reiterate the two- to three-week timeline for concluding hostilities he offered on Tuesday. He will also discuss the nation’s relationship with its European allies.

Investors’ primary concern, however, is the fate of the Strait of Hormuz.

“Obviously, any cessation of outright warfare would be a good thing—hopefully no one wants to see casualties and major disruptions—but the notion that it might occur without a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz seemed rather incomplete,” says Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers. “A ceasefire is a necessary condition for a resolution; reopening the Strait is the only condition sufficient to return global economies to a state of relative normalcy.”

So far, the president has given “mixed messages” on whether the Strait’s reopening is a condition for ending the war, notes my colleague, Anita Hamilton. On Tuesday he wrote in a Truth Social post that countries should go “get your own oil” out of the chokehold; earlier this morning, he said the U.S. is “blasting Iran into oblivion” until the strait is “open, free, and clear.”

Tonight’s comments may provide more clarity, although experts warn that there may be more swings until all parties agree to a final deal.

The Hot Stock: Western Digital +10.1%
The Biggest Loser: Nike -15.5%

Best Sector: Communication Services +1.7%
Worst Sector: Energy -3.9%

SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket company is getting closer to one of its biggest launches yet: a Wall Street listing.

On Wednesday, SpaceX filed confidential IPO documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to The Wall Street Journal. The listing could raise up to $75 billion, potentially surpassing Saudi oil giant Aramco’s nearly $30 billion record IPO. SpaceX is valued at roughly $1.3 trillion in private markets.

Confidential IPOs are basically a draft of the filing used by companies going public that outlines the business, risks, and recent performance. Filing confidentially allows a company and the SEC to go back and forth on the listing without disclosing sensitive information until later in the process, when the listing is eventually made public. Once that happens, a company has to wait 15 days before beginning its roadshow, during which executives make their case to money managers around the world.

My colleague, Al Root, writes:

And let’s not forget that SpaceX basically “invented the modern commercial space business by pioneering reusable rockets,” Al writes, which has been a Pretty Big Deal. To wit, investors will also be closely scrutinizing the company’s existing financial position, he notes. SpaceX should already be making money, and some estimates place its Ebitda profit margins as high as 50%.

SpaceX isn’t the only AI play revving up for an IPO. ChatGPT’s parent company, OpenAI, has raised about $122 billion ahead of its own planned initial listing, putting it at a valuation of about $852 billion.

Read more of Al’s reporting here.

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