The Closer – Rapid Rebound, Beige Book, Record Surplus – 4/15/26
Log-in here if you’re a member with access to the Closer.
- Since 1928, this is the first time the S&P has made new all-time highs in 11 days or fewer after falling 5-10%.
- Beige Book mentions of optimistic terms rose to the highest levels since June of 2022.
- The US saw record crude and crude product exports during the week of April 10th.
See today’s full post-market Closer and everything else Bespoke publishes by starting a 14-day trial to Bespoke Institutional today!
Daily Sector Snapshot — 4/15/26
Bespoke Baskets Update – April 2026
Q1 2026 Earnings Conference Call Recaps: BlackRock (BLK)
Bespoke’s Conference Call Recaps use AI to summarize lengthy earnings calls. The commentary below is AI-generated and then edited by Bespoke for quality control. As always, none of these summaries should be construed as recommendations to buy or sell any securities, and investors should do their own research and/or consult with a financial professional before making any investment decisions.
Our latest recap available to Bespoke subscribers covers BlackRock’s (BLK) Q1 2026 earnings call.
BlackRock (BLK) is the world’s largest asset manager, overseeing trillions across ETFs (iShares), active funds, private markets, and its Aladdin risk/portfolio technology platform. The company delivered a strong Q1 with $130B in net inflows, 8% organic base fee growth, and 27% revenue growth. The call centered on three big ideas: (1) clients consolidating assets with fewer firms, benefiting BlackRock’s “whole portfolio” model; (2) private credit demand staying strong on the institutional side despite some retail noise, with spreads widening and opportunity improving; and (3) retirement reform, especially the push to bring private assets into 401(k)s, as a major long-term growth driver. Management also highlighted rising demand for international exposures, continued momentum in ETFs and direct indexing (Aperio), and the role of AI in driving infrastructure investment and data needs. Shares rose 3.1% on 4/14 in reaction to the better-than-expected results…
Continue reading our Conference Call Recap for BLK by becoming a Bespoke Institutional subscriber. You can sign up for Bespoke Institutional now and receive a 14-day trial to read our newest Conference Call Recap. To sign up, choose either the monthly or annual checkout link below:
Q1 2026 Earnings Conference Call Recaps: Citigroup (C)
Bespoke’s Conference Call Recaps use AI to summarize lengthy earnings calls. The commentary below is AI-generated and then edited by Bespoke for quality control. As always, none of these summaries should be construed as recommendations to buy or sell any securities, and investors should do their own research and/or consult with a financial professional before making any investment decisions.
Our latest recap available to Bespoke subscribers covers Citigroup’s (C) Q1 2026 earnings call.
Citigroup (C) is one of the world’s largest financial institutions, providing banking, payments, trading, and wealth management services to corporations, governments, and consumers across more than 90 countries. Citi delivered a strong Q1 with $5.8B in net income and 14% revenue growth, driven by standout performance in Services (+17%) and Markets (best quarter in a decade, equities +40%). Management emphasized resilience in US consumers (card spend +5%, improving credit) while flagging rising macro risks from Middle East conflict and inflation. Services continue to be a key differentiator, with mandates up 40% and cross-border activity +12%, reinforced by investments in tokenization and real-time payments. Investment banking remains active, especially M&A, though sponsors are more cautious. The stock was up 2.7% on 4/14 after posting better-than-expected results, and it’s up almost 23% since 3/30…
Continue reading our Conference Call Recap for C by becoming a Bespoke Institutional subscriber. You can sign up for Bespoke Institutional now and receive a 14-day trial to read our newest Conference Call Recap. To sign up, choose either the monthly or annual checkout link below:
Chart of the Day – Quick Turnaround
An Important Lesson for Investors
Just over two weeks ago on March 30th, every single key US index ETF that we track in our Trend Analyzer tool (available to Premium members and higher) was oversold, with all but the Dow 30 ETF in extreme oversold territory.
Fear was permeating and bearish sentiment gauges were rising sharply.
Fast forward to two weeks later.
As shown below, these same index ETFs are now all in overbought territory (with the exception of the Dow 30).
For investors and traders, the action over the last few weeks is a good reminder that markets don’t stay oversold or overbought forever.
If you’re fearful when prices get oversold or ebullient when prices get overbought, try to remind yourself that the script will eventually flip.
Sign up for Bespoke’s Think BIG mailing list to receive an interesting market thought like this in your inbox a few times per week. Click here or on the image below to sign up. An email is all we need!
Bespoke’s Morning Lineup – 4/15/26 – War Reversals
See what’s driving market performance around the world in today’s Morning Lineup. Bespoke’s Morning Lineup is the best way to start your trading day. Read it now by starting a two-week trial to Bespoke Premium. CLICK HERE to learn more and start your trial.
“We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.” – Winston Churchill
Below is a snippet of commentary from today’s Morning Lineup. Start a two-week trial to Bespoke Premium to view the full report.
In an unusual picture relative to the post-war periods, US equity futures aren’t showing much in the way of gains or losses. Treasury yields and crude oil are modestly higher, while gold and Bitcoin are slightly lower. Asian stocks were higher overnight, and European stocks are mixed in early trading. Empire Manufacturing and Import Prices both just hit the tape, wth Empire exceeding forecasts while Import Prices came in weaker than expected.
It’s been ten trading days since the S&P 500’s Iran war low, and during that time, the index has rallied just under 10%. Along with that impressive gain, four sectors have rallied more than 10%, including Communication Services and Technology, which are up over 15%. Not bad for two weeks! It’s been almost an everything rally over the last two weeks as the only two sectors to trade lower are Energy and Consumer Staples, although while the latter has only experienced a marginal decline, the former is down over 10%.
Sector moves over the last two weeks have largely been a reversal of the moves since the start of the war. Energy was the only sector to rally from 2/27 through 3/30, and it’s easily the worst performer since then, erasing all its Iran war gain. Conversely, the Technology sector has also more than erased its losses from 2/27 through 3/30. Technology is also a standout. It held up relatively well on the way down (5th best performing sector), but it has still been the second-best performing sector on the way up. Another notable sector has been Consumer Staples. While no sector traded higher in both the periods from 2/27 through 3/30 and since 3/30, Consumer Staples is the only sector to trade lower in both periods.
Have you done your taxes yet? With today being the Federal Tax deadline, we wanted to highlight the S&P 500’s performance leading up to and after 4/15. The chart below shows the performance of the S&P 500 in the week before 4/15, dating back to 1990. During that period, the S&P 500’s median performance has been a gain of 0.55% with positive returns 54% of the time. Just looking at the chart, the market has been trendless leading up to the tax deadline.
Market performance in the week after Tax Day has shown an evolving pattern over the last several years. While the S&P 500’s median performance in the week after 4/15 has been the same as its performance in the week before Tax Day, there has been a weakening pattern since the turn of the century. The S&P 500’s post-Tax Day performance peaked with a 5.75% gain in the week after Tax Day in 2000, and since then, it has been gradually trending lower to the point where the S&P 500 has declined in the week after for five straight years.
Start a two-week trial to Bespoke Premium to continue reading today’s full Morning Lineup.
The Closer – Reasons for Optimism, PPI, BDCs – 4/14/26
Log-in here if you’re a member with access to the Closer.
- Prior to the war, truck orders were ripping with a 211% increase in the three months ending in February.
- ADP estimates 157K total private sector jobs were added in the four weeks ending March 27, easily the best result in series history.
- Consumer confidence data continues to run much weaker than would be anticipated based on inflation and unemployment.
See today’s full post-market Closer and everything else Bespoke publishes by starting a 14-day trial to Bespoke Institutional today!