By Martin Baccardax

U.S. stocks look set to close out a record-setting week in a cautious mood Friday. Investors will need to rest up ahead of next week's bruising slate of corporate earnings, economic data, and central bank policy meetings.

The S&P 500 took a breather on Thursday, falling around 30 points from its recent record high as global oil prices extended their weekly run of gains amid rising U.S.-Iran tensions and an unsteady truce in the broader Gulf region.

The benchmark remains more than 8.8% higher on the month, however, with the tech-focused Nasdaq sitting on a gain of more than 13% heading into the final week of an extraordinary April comeback.

Still, futures are relatively muted Friday, with only a modest upside move priced into the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq set to gain from the extraordinary 25% advance slated for chip maker Intel following its earnings last night.

"Markets are entering the final day of the trading week in a cautious mood as U.S.-Iran tensions show no signs of easing while the Strait of Hormuz remains essentially closed," said Deutsche Bank's global head of macro research Jim Reid.

"From a market perspective, that means oil prices continue to grind higher, and unlike many recent sessions, this also weighed on U.S. equities," he added.

Brent crude futures for July delivery, the global benchmark, jumped more than 2% in overnight trading to $107.25 a barrel, while WTI crude for June rose 1.9% to $97.62 a barrel.

The recent moves in U.S. stocks, which have also helped international equities hit a fresh all-time high late last week, have also raised concerns at the Bank of England, where deputy governor for financial stability Sara Breeden has warned that "a lot of risk" remains for global investors.

"The thing that really keeps me awake at night is the likelihood of a number of risks crystallizing at the same time," Breeden told the BBC in an interview published Friday. "A major macroeconomic shock, confidence in private credit goes, AI and other risky valuations readjust -- what happens in that environment and are we prepared for it?"

Next week may provide the answer.

Five of the so-called Magnificent Seven tech stocks, which represent a staggering 24% of the S&P 500's market value, will post quarterly results over a two-day stretch beginning on Wednesday, with updates from Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, and Facebook parent Meta Platforms. Apple will follow after the close on Thursday.

An index of the Mag 7 stocks has surged more than 18% since bottoming out on March 30, and now sits just 1.8% south of the record high it reached in late October.

"Big tech earnings will help to confirm whether or not the sector's share price gains in recent weeks are justified," said David Laut, chief investment officer at Kerux Financial in Granite Bay, Calif.

"The big tech stock correction that started prior to the Iran war has just about run its course, and valuations are back to elevated levels," he added. "The outlook for big tech stocks depends purely on earnings."

The first batch of Mag 7 earnings will also come just hours after the Federal Reserve delivers its April interest-rate decision, which is also likely to be the last led by outgoing Chair Jerome Powell.

The Fed will also be joined in providing updates to the current economic situation, and the impact of soaring energy prices, by policy decisions from the Bank of England, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan.

"This should, and most likely will be Powell's last meeting as Fed Chair, with the 'most likely' needed in that sentence because of the outside risk that Kevin Warsh is not approved in time for the June meeting," said John Hardy, global head of macro strategy at Saxo Bank.

"The ECB and Bank of England meetings are more interesting on the potential for policy guidance as they are likely gearing up for rate hikes," he added.

Write to Martin Baccardax at martin.baccardax@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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April 24, 2026 07:24 ET (11:24 GMT)

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