Overview
  • The S&P 500 closed at a record high on Thursday for the second consecutive day. The U.S. stock index has rallied sharply since the end of March.
  • Stocks have been resilient even as the Iran war continues and there remains a blockade on oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz.
  • The stock market is forward-looking: Investors are betting on a quick resolution to the conflict, economists said.
  • That’s largely because investors have been conditioned to believe that President Donald Trump will back off if the economic pain becomes too intense, economists said — the so-called “TACO” trade, shorthand for “Trump always chickens out.”

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/16/stocks-record-highs-iran-war.html