Alain’s Holdings

Symbol	Name	Price	Change	Change %
VOO	Vanguard S&P 500 ETF	657.50	+1.08	+0.16%
QQQ	Invesco QQQ Trust	664.23	+0.35	+0.05%
XIU.TO	iShares S&P/TSX 60 ETF	49.97	-0.03	-0.06%
VRT	Vertiv Holdings Co.	322.43	-1.03	-0.32%

Indexes Close Mixed as Iran Tensions Dominate

U.S. stocks ended the session in mixed territory, with
the S&P 500 and Nasdaq managing to eke out record closes while
the Dow slipped.
The S&P 500 added 0.12% to close at a record 7,173.91, and
the Nasdaq gained 0.20% to notch a closing record of 24,887.10.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 62.92 points, or 0.13%, settling at 49,167.79.

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The Big Story: Iran & the Strait of Hormuz

The dominant market driver today was geopolitical. President Trump on Saturday scrapped plans to send U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan for ceasefire talks related to Iran. However, sentiment partially recovered intraday after Iran, through Pakistani mediators, presented the U.S. with a new proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war, with nuclear negotiations postponed to a later stage.

Oil surged on the ongoing supply disruption. Goldman Sachs raised its oil price forecast through year-end, now expecting Brent crude to average $90 per barrel in Q4, compared to its prior forecast of $80. Crude settled up around 2.4% on the day.

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Notable Movers

Winners:

• Verizon (VZ) gained 3.5% after raising its fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings outlook, following stronger profit and revenue in Q1.
• Micron Technology (MU) rose 3.2% after analysts at Melius Research initiated coverage with a buy rating, citing strong AI-driven demand for high-bandwidth memory chips.
• Sandisk (SNDK) surged 7.28%, continuing the rally in memory stocks.
• Veradermics (MANE) surged 45% following positive Phase 2/3 trial results for its oral extended-release minoxidil treatment for male pattern hair loss.

Losers:

• Domino’s Pizza (DPZ) dropped over 10% after missing Wall Street’s Q1 earnings expectations.
• Poet Technologies (POET) fell nearly 50% after canceling all purchase orders from Celestial AI, which is now owned by Marvell Technology. Marvell shares slid 5.45% as well.
• Apple, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon all traded lower ahead of their quarterly earnings reports due later this week.

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What’s Ahead This Week

This week marks the peak of earnings season by market cap, with over 40% of the S&P 500 reporting — including the hyperscalers on Wednesday evening. The Federal Reserve is widely expected to hold its policy rate unchanged at Wednesday’s meeting — likely Jerome Powell’s second-to-last as Fed Chair, with Kevin Warsh expected to succeed him.

Investors will be closely watching megacap earnings and any further developments in U.S.–Iran negotiations as the conflict enters its ninth week.

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