MARKET WRAPS

STOCKS: Stocks jumped amid optimism about a second round of U.S.-Iranian peace talks.

TREASURYS: Treasury yields fell as oil futures tumbled, easing inflation fears.

FOREX: The U.S. dollar ticked down on a more benign outlook for energy inflation.

COMMODITIES: Oil futures fell 11% to $83.85 a barrel after Iran said it was reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

HEADLINES

Anthropic CEO Lands White House Meeting as Feud Thaws

WASHINGTON-Dario Amodei is scheduled to meet White House chief of staff Susie Wiles in the West Wing on Friday, one of the Anthropic chief executive officer's most high-profile efforts to ease tensions with the Trump administration, people familiar with the matter said.

The Friday meeting comes as the White House races to prepare for Anthropic's latest artificial-intelligence model, Mythos, which the company says could pose cybersecurity risks that cause widespread online disruption.

Anthropic has released a preview version of the model to tech giants and organizations that run critical infrastructure and has been briefing government officials about minimizing harms. It currently has no plans to release it to the public.

Blue Owl Founders Revise Terms of Personal Loans That Raised Scrutiny

Shares in Blue Owl Capital have dropped nearly 40% so far this year amid investor jitters about private credit.

Now, the firm's co-CEOs are removing one drag on its stock by revising the terms of personal loans they took out against their shares, people familiar with the matter said.

Doug Ostrover and Marc Lipschultz had borrowed against their stakes in Blue Owl, raising concern on Wall Street that the company's falling stock price could open them up to margin calls and add downward pressure.

Fed's Waller Says Prolonged Iran Conflict Could Block Path to Rate Cuts

One of the Federal Reserve's most outspoken supporters of recent interest-rate cuts said Friday that a prolonged conflict in the Middle East could remove the central bank's scope for bringing rates lower this year.

In a speech at Alabama's Auburn University, Fed governor Christopher Waller said that if the Iran war means a continuing blockage of the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, higher prices could ripple through the American economy and force the Fed to stay on guard against inflation. In that scenario, the Fed may have to hold interest rates steady even if the labor market is weakening, Waller said.

"That may mean maintaining the policy rate at the current target range if the risks to inflation outweigh those to the labor market," Waller said, according to a published text of his remarks.

State Street Profit Rises On Fee Growth

State Street reported higher first-quarter profit, boosted by fee growth, particularly for its foreign exchange trading services.

The company posted net income of $764 million, or $2.49 a share, up from $644 million, or $2.04 a share.

Adjusted earnings excluding notable items were $2.84 a share. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $2.64 a share.

Ford Recalls up to 1.39 Million F-150s

Ford is recalling up to 1.39 million F-150 pickups over the risk of unexpected downshifting that can lead to a loss of vehicle control.

The recall affects certain 2015 to 2017 F-150 vehicles and focuses on a loss of signal between the transmission range sensor and the powertrain control module that can cause the transmission to downshift into second gear.

Dealers will update the powertrain control module software. Letters notifying owners of the safety risk are expected to be mailed April 27, while additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available, which is expected in July.

Commerce Secretary Lutnick Says Trade Deal With Canada and Mexico Needs to Be 'Reconsidered'

OTTAWA-Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Friday that President Trump considers the present U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade treaty to be a poor deal that needs to be "reconsidered and reimagined."

Speaking at a conference organized by the media outlet Semafor, Lutnick also harshly criticized Canada's approach to the trade talks with Washington.

"They suck," Lutnick said of Canada, adding that Prime Minister Mark Carney's China strategy is also misguided.

TALKING POINT It's Getting Harder to Tell Investing From Gambling, and It's Not Your Fault

The biggest danger isn't that the markets can go crazy, but that they'll make you go crazy, too.

The war in Iran is a seething stalemate, the price of oil is up about 60% this year, inflation jumped to 3.3% in March-and still U.S. stocks set all-time highs this week.

A kind of gambling fever seems to be setting in. In February and March, asset managers filed to launch dozens of exchange-traded funds that would seek to quadruple or even quintuple the daily returns on stocks and other assets, even though regulators have reportedly indicated they might not be approved. On prediction markets, you can bet whether the price of bitcoin will go up or down in the next five to 15 minutes-24 hours a day.

The line between investing and gambling has always been a bit blurry, but it has never been easier for investors to step over the line without even realizing it. You need to be on guard not only against the craziness of this market, but the possibility that you won't be able to resist it.

Your mind plays all kinds of tricks on you when geopolitical events go haywire. You probably think the stock market has been wrenching up and down like mad since the Iran war started at the end of February. I certainly did.

In fact, U.S. stocks have been less volatile than usual. The S&P 500 has swung at least 1% between its intraday high and low on 40 days so far this year. Through the same point in April, that happened 49 times in both 2023 and 2025, and 63 times in 2022, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

On the other hand, it has been hard to ignore the lurching price of oil. Since the war began, it has moved by an average of 4.9% per day (up or down). That's nearly triple its average daily fluctuation over the previous five years.

--Jason Zweig

Expected Major Events for Monday

04:30/JPN: Feb Tertiary Industry Index

05:00/JPN: Mar Convenience Store Sales

06:00/GER: Mar PPI

08:30/UK: Jan Card Spending statistics

08:30/UK: S&P Global UK Consumer Sentiment Index

10:00/UK: Mar Aluminium Production report

12:30/CAN: Mar CPI

15:30/CAN: Bank of Canada Business Outlook Survey

All times in GMT. Powered by Onclusive and Dow Jones.

Expected Earnings for Monday

ASA Gold & Precious Metals Ltd $(ASA)$ is expected to report for 1Q.

Alaska Air Group Inc $(ALK)$ is expected to report $-1.78 for 1Q.

BOK Financial Corp $(BOKF)$ is expected to report $2.32 for 1Q.

Bank of Hawaii Corp $(BOH)$ is expected to report $1.34 for 1Q.

CASI Pharmaceuticals Inc (CASIF) is expected to report for 4Q.

Capital City Bank Group Inc (CCBG) is expected to report $0.83 for 1Q.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc $(CLF)$ is expected to report $-0.41 for 1Q.

Dynex Capital Inc $(DX)$ is expected to report $0.09 for 1Q.

Ennis Inc $(EBF)$ is expected to report for 4Q.

FS Bancorp Inc (FSBW) is expected to report $1.00 for 1Q.

FVCBankcorp Inc $(FVCB)$ is expected to report $0.33 for 1Q.

First Community Bankshares Inc $(FCBC)$ is expected to report $0.52 for 1Q.

First United Corp $(FUNC)$ is expected to report $0.92 for 1Q.

Flexsteel Industries Inc $(FLXS)$ is expected to report $0.86 for 3Q.

Greenwich LifeSciences Inc $(GLSI)$ is expected to report for 4Q.

Home Bancorp Inc (HBCP) is expected to report $1.39 for 1Q.

Investar Holding Corp $(ISTR)$ is expected to report $0.57 for 1Q.

LCNB Corp $(LCNB)$ is expected to report $0.35 for 1Q.

MainStreet Bancshares Inc $(MNSB)$ is expected to report $0.45 for 1Q.

NB Bancorp Inc $(NBBK)$ is expected to report $0.54 for 1Q.

NetSTREIT Corp $(NTST)$ is expected to report $0.07 for 1Q.

Nicolet Bankshares Inc $(NIC)$ is expected to report $2.62 for 1Q.

Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd (NAK,NDM.T) is expected to report for 4Q.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Inc $(PEBK)$ is expected to report for 1Q.

PrairieSky Royalty Ltd (PSK.T) is expected to report for 1Q.

RBB Bancorp (RBB) is expected to report $0.45 for 1Q.

Royale Energy Inc (ROYL) is expected to report for 4Q.

ServisFirst Bancshares Inc (SFBS) is expected to report $1.51 for 1Q.

SmartFinancial Inc $(SMBK)$ is expected to report $0.78 for 1Q.

Steel Dynamics Inc (STLD) is expected to report $2.79 for 1Q.

Timberland Bancorp Inc (TSBK) is expected to report for 2Q.

Washington Trust Bancorp Inc $(WASH)$ is expected to report $0.76 for 1Q.

Waterstone Financial Inc $(WSBF)$ is expected to report $0.32 for 1Q.

Western Energy Services Corp (WRG.T) is expected to report for 1Q.

Wintrust Financial Corp $(WTFC)$ is expected to report $2.96 for 1Q.

Zions Bancorp NA $(ZION)$ is expected to report $1.42 for 1Q.

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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 17, 2026 16:30 ET (20:30 GMT)

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