Week Recap (April 13-17): Bank Beats, Cooler Core CPI, and a Record S&P Close

The S&P 500 closed the week ending April 17 at a record 7,126.06, up roughly 4.5% for the five sessions and clearing 7,100 for the first time. The Nasdaq tacked on 6.8% and ran its win streak to 13 sessions, the longest since 1992. The Dow added 3.2% to finish at 49,447.43. The seven-session rally we flagged going in not only held, it accelerated.

Two forces did the work. Big banks beat almost across the board, with JPMorgan, Goldman, Citigroup, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley all topping consensus EPS. At the same time, WTI crude finished the week near $79.78 after tumbling more than 12% on Friday alone, when Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz “completely open.” Lower oil combined with cooler-than-feared core inflation pulled the risk-on bid through Friday’s close.

The hinge print of the week was March CPI, released April 10. Headline came in at 3.3% year-over-year, in line with consensus, while core held at 2.6%, just under the 2.7% Street estimate. Gasoline alone accounted for nearly three-quarters of the monthly move, which is exactly what the market wanted to see: a headline made of energy and a core that is still drifting lower.

What drove the week

Monday opened with Goldman Sachs, and the print set the tone. Goldman delivered EPS of $17.55 versus $16.47 expected, on record Q1 net revenue of $17.23 billion. Investment banking fees jumped 48% to $2.84 billion on strong advisory, and equities trading hit a record. Fixed income was the one soft line, down 10% to $4.01 billion, which took the shares down about 3% despite the beat. The message from Goldman: the capital markets thaw is real, but not every line item participates at the same pace.

Tuesday delivered the main event. JPMorgan posted EPS of $5.94 against the $5.45 LSEG estimate, with revenue of $50.54 billion topping the $49.17 billion consensus. Fixed income trading rose 21%, investment banking fees climbed 28%, and the provision for credit losses came in about $500 million below the StreetAccount estimate, a clean signal on borrower health. The one wrinkle was guidance: management trimmed full-year 2026 net interest income guidance from $104.5 billion to about $103 billion, a reminder that deposit costs are still a live issue even with the curve behaving.

Citigroup printed its best revenue quarter in a decade at $24.63 billion versus $23.55 billion expected, with EPS of $3.06 against a $2.65 estimate and year-over-year EPS up 56%. Wells Fargo was the exception. EPS of $1.60 beat the $1.58 consensus, but revenue of $21.4 billion missed the $21.76 billion Street number, and shares fell roughly 5% as a higher provision for credit losses of $1.135 billion weighed on the reaction.

Wednesday and Thursday rounded out the complex. Bank of America posted EPS of $1.11 versus the $1.00 consensus on revenue of $30.43 billion, with net interest income at $15.9 billion, up 9% year-over-year, and sales and trading up 13% to $6.4 billion. Morgan Stanley delivered EPS of $3.43 versus $3.00 estimated, on revenue of $20.58 billion versus $19.72 billion expected. Equities trading set a first-quarter record at $5.15 billion, and wealth management revenue climbed 16% to a record $8.52 billion. The UBS upgrade into the print looked well-timed.

Bank earnings scorecard

Bank	Ticker	EPS Actual	EPS Est.	Revenue Actual	Revenue Est.	Result	Key Line
Goldman Sachs	GS	$17.55	$16.47	$17.23B	$16.95B	Beat / Beat	IB fees +48% YoY; FICC -10%
JPMorgan	JPM	$5.94	$5.45	$50.54B	$49.17B	Beat / Beat	NII guide cut to ~$103B
Wells Fargo	WFC	$1.60	$1.58	$21.4B	$21.76B	Beat / Miss	PCL $1.135B, shares -5%
Citigroup	C	$3.06	$2.65	$24.63B	$23.55B	Beat / Beat	Best revenue in a decade
Bank of America	BAC	$1.11	$1.00	$30.43B	$29.92B	Beat / Beat	NII $15.9B, +9% YoY
Morgan Stanley	MS	$3.43	$3.00	$20.58B	$19.72B	Beat / Beat	Record equities; wealth +16%

Economic data results

The week’s macro tape was mostly supportive.

Release	Actual	Expected	Period
CPI headline YoY	3.3%	3.3%	March 2026
Core CPI YoY	2.6%	2.7%	March 2026
Initial jobless claims	207K	215K	Week ended Apr 11
Industrial production MoM	-0.5%	—	March 2026

Retail sales was rescheduled from April 16 to April 21, so the consumer read lands next week rather than this one. The cooler core CPI and the soft jobless claims print did most of the work on rate expectations. Heading into Friday’s close, CME FedWatch was still pricing the April 28 to 29 FOMC as a near-certain hold, with the March CPI detail keeping a cut on the table for the summer rather than accelerating it.

Market performance table

Asset	Weekly Change	Friday Close
S&P 500	+4.5%	7,126.06
Nasdaq Composite	+6.8%	24,468.48
Dow Jones	+3.2%	49,447.43
10Y Treasury yield	—	4.26%
VIX	Lower	~17 (from ~31 three weeks prior)
WTI crude	~-13%	$79.78

The 10-year yield at 4.26% at Friday’s close is the piece worth sitting with. Equities ripped, VIX compressed, and long rates barely moved on a hot headline CPI, which is the bond market’s way of saying it bought the energy-only story on inflation and the soft landing story on growth.

What it means

In our view, the week validated the thesis coming in: the banks, not the macro data, were going to decide whether the seven-session rally had legs. Five of six big-bank prints beat on both EPS and revenue, investment banking fees surprised to the upside in size, and credit quality held. That is what a cyclical rally looks like with fundamentals attached, not just multiple expansion. The one exception, Wells Fargo’s revenue miss and higher credit provision, is a useful reminder that not every balance sheet is shaped the same way.

We believe the cooler core CPI matters more than the in-line headline. Shelter and services disinflation appears to be continuing, and that is the line the Fed has told markets it watches. Combined with the oil crash, the real-wage arithmetic for the consumer improved materially this week. Positioning in the bank complex has favored capital-markets-heavy names, and the week’s data did not challenge that lean. Investors leaning into the quality-and-cash-flow trade still look well-supported, but likely not cheap anymore after 4.5% in a week.

The risk we are watching is simple. The Nasdaq has now run 13 sessions in a row, the longest streak in more than three decades. That kind of tape typically invites a pullback catalyst, and JPMorgan’s NII guide-down is the kind of detail that can get revisited in a tougher tape. We would not chase.

What’s next

The calendar tightens quickly. Retail sales for March lands April 21 after the delay, the first real read on whether consumers pocketed the oil savings. The FOMC meets April 28 to 29, with a hold priced in and the press conference likely to be the market-moving piece. And the Q1 2026 earnings season broadens into industrials, tech, and consumer names over the next two weeks.

For a preview of what we were watching going in, compare this recap against the bank earnings week preview.

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Ferrante Capital LLC is a registered investment adviser. Information presented is for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, a solicitation, or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. All investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal.

FC and its principals may hold positions in BAC, C, MS, VIX, WFC. This analysis is for educational purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security.

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