S&P 500, Nasdaq Post Strongest Monthly Gains Since 2020

2026-04-30 20:09 By Joana Ferreira 1 min. read

US stocks rose on Thursday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq recording their biggest monthly gains since 2020, as strong earnings overshadowed oil supply concerns.

The S&P 500 advanced 1% to 7,209, while the Nasdaq climbed 0.9% to 27,430, both hitting intraday highs.

The Dow Jones surged 790 points, finishing the month up over 7%, its strongest performance since November 2024, led by Caterpillar’s 9.8% jump after reporting higher Q1 profits.

Tech shares were mixed: Meta and Microsoft fell 7% and 4%, respectively, on concerns over AI-related spending, while Alphabet soared 10% after its cloud unit posted a record quarter.

Intel recorded its best month ever on optimism over its new 18A chips and rising CPU demand from agentic AI.

Eli Lilly surged nearly 10% after raising its profit forecast.

After the market closed, Apple reported fiscal Q2 earnings and revenue that topped estimates.

On the data front, US Q1 GDP grew 2%, jobless claims hit a 1969 low, and PCE inflation surged to 3.5%.



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