April 2026 | Monthly market recap
Big Tech rebounds in relief rally
Despite entering the third month of the Iran conflict, stocks cut through “The Fog of War” in April, with investors instead choosing to focus on the results of a particularly strong Q1 earnings season and a ceasefire in the Middle East leading the S&P 500 Index to a gain of 10.49%, its best single month return since November 2020 and only the fifth monthly return exceeding 10% on a total return basis since 1988. For the month “Big Tech” once again led the way.
ONE-MONTH PERFORMANCE as of 4/30/2026 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
U.S. large caps (S&P 500) | U.S. small caps (Russell 2000) | International developed (MSCI EAFE) | Emerging markets (MSCI EM) | Investment-grade bonds (Bloomberg Agg) |
10.49% | 12.21% | 7.56% | 14.73% | 0.11% |
Source: Boston Partners; all data via individual index providers. Past performance does not guarantee future results. See below for definitions.
Most sectors gain, along with GDP and inflation
Nine of the eleven sectors that comprise the S&P 500 Index rebounded into positive territory during April, led by the three sectors where the Magnificent 7 stocks happen to reside. For the month, the “Mag 7” returned 14.88%, led by a 33.52% gain in Alphabet (Google). The Energy sector pulled up the rear with a loss of 3.46% as the price of WTI crude oil closed the month at $105.07 per barrel, down from an intra-month high of $112.95 per barrel. The Middle East ceasefire (including Israel and Lebanon) coupled with negotiations between the U.S. and Iran on terms for a resolution to the war helped to sooth the frayed nerves of investors and provided some relief in energy prices.
U.S. GDP rebounded from a sluggish Q4 2025, with Y-O-Y growth pegged at 2.0% and led by continued strength in Consumption and a spurt in Fixed Investment. Fixed Investment is benefitting from the continued wave of A.I. data center expansion plans, led by the so-called four hyperscalers (Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft), whose realized and projected capital expenditures continue to soar.
KEY ECONOMIC INDICATORS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GDP (Q1 vs. Q4) | Fed funds rate | 10-year UST | Inflation (CPI) | Jobs | |
Most recent | 2.0% | Unchanged | 4.40% | 3.3% | 178,000 |
Prior reading | 0.7% | Unchanged | 4.30% | 2.4% | -133,000 |
Sources: Gross domestic product (GDP) via the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Federal funds rate via the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED). 10-year U.S. Treasury (UST) rates via the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Inflation (CPI) and jobs (non-farm payroll figures) via the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. All “most recent” data is for the month of April and is compared with the month prior, except CPI and jobs figures, which reflect March data—the most recent available. Note that GDP data is compared with the prior quarter.
While the Federal Open Market Committee left interest rates unchanged at their April meeting, three members of the committee looked to remove language that signaled a bias toward lowering interest rates going forward, desiring a more neutral stance. With 20% of the world’s oil transmission shut off due to the Iran conflict, energy prices have spiked while global supply chain stress has risen to COVID-19 levels. This, coupled with tariffs, has put upward pressure on inflation readings.
Upcoming key events
- May 8: April Jobs Report
- May 13: Producer Price Index
- May 20: Nvidia Earnings Release
Chart of the month
A significant rally in the Information Technology sector drove the S&P 500 higher in April. Earnings per share (EPS) estimates of the “Magnificent 7” stocks in particular—Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Amazon, and Tesla—were revised higher at the same time 12-month forward P/Es were dropping, providing a perceived buying opportunity.
Source: Bloomberg, as of April 30, 2026.
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Important information
Boston Partners Global Investors, Inc. (Boston Partners) is composed of three divisions, Boston Partners, Boston Partners Private Wealth, and Weiss, Peck & Greer (WPG) Partners, and is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of ORIX Corporation of Japan (ORIX). Boston Partners is affiliated with listed corporations through common ownership. ORIX Corporation Europe, N.V. services may be offered in the U.S. through Robeco Institutional Asset Management, U.S.
The views and opinions expressed may change based on market and other conditions. This material is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. There can be no assurance that developments will transpire as forecasted. Actual results may vary. No investment strategy or risk management technique can guarantee return or eliminate risk in all market environments.
The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index tracks the performance of intermediate-term investment-grade bonds traded in the United States. The Consumer Price Index is a commonly used measure of inflation that tracks the variation in prices paid by typical consumers for retail goods and other items. The MSCI EAFE Index tracks the performance of large- and mid-cap equities traded across global developed markets, excluding the United States and Canada. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index tracks the performance of large- and mid-cap equities traded in global emerging markets. The NASDAQ 100 tracks the performance of the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. The Russell 1000 Growth and Value Indexes track the performance of those large-cap U.S. equities in the Russell 1000 Index with growth and value style characteristics, respectively. The Russell 2000 Index tracks the performance of the 2,000 smallest companies traded in the United States. The S&P 100 and 500 Indexes track the performance of the 100 and 500 largest companies traded in the United States, respectively. S&P 500 Equal Weight Index also tracks the performance of the 500 largest companies traded in the United States, but weights each company equally, rather than proportionally according to market cap. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. The ECB (European Central Bank) is the central institution responsible for monetary policy, maintaining price stability, and managing the euro currency within the Eurozone.
The breakpoints for capitalization ranges should be viewed only as guideposts and will change over time. In general, FTSE Russell (which maintains a number of stock-market indexes based on company size) considers small-cap stocks to have market caps of between $150 million and $7 billion, mid caps to have market caps between $7 billion and $150 billion, and large caps to be those companies with market caps above $150 billion.
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