The US market: review and forecast for April 28. The auction will be held in standby mode

Geopolitical developments continue to influence market sentiment. The latest proposal from Tehran was discussed at the White House, but there were no public signals of the Trump administration’s willingness to compromise. Against this backdrop, any statements from the conflicting parties during today’s session will be closely monitored by market participants.

Energy transportation through the Strait of Hormuz remains constrained. According to Lipow Oil Associates, disruptions affect about 20 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum products per day, and market stabilization could take four to six months even if hostilities end soon.

Ahead of today’s FOMC meeting (with results due Wednesday), investors are acting cautiously. This may lead to narrower trading ranges and reduced market activity.

The key macro release will be the Conference Board’s consumer confidence index for April (consensus: 89, March: 91.8). A decline would signal cautious household sentiment amid high energy prices and geopolitical uncertainty.

Before the open, earnings will be reported by Coca-Cola, Spotify, Corning, UPS, American Tower, General Motors, and Hilton. After the close, results will come from Visa, T-Mobile, Starbucks, Robinhood, Bloom Energy, Seagate Technology, and Teradyne.

U.S. equity futures are trading slightly lower. We assess the risk balance for the upcoming session as neutral with moderate volatility. Key support for the S&P 500 is at 7100; a break below could increase correction risks. A test of 7200 is seen as a likely scenario during today’s session.

Premarket highlights

· Sanmina shares are up ~15% after strong earnings and a $600M buyback announcement.
· Nucor is up over 4% on strong quarterly results.
· Erasca plunged more than 35% on clinical and legal concerns.
· Rambus fell over 10% on weak guidance.
· Celestica declined over 8% despite strong results.
· Amkor Technology is down more than 5% on soft outlook.

Previous session

On April 27, U.S. markets were mixed: S&P 500 +0.12%, NASDAQ 100 flat, Dow Jones -0.13%, Russell 2000 +0.04%. Investors remained cautious ahead of a heavy earnings week. Among the “Magnificent Seven,” NVIDIA and Alphabet gained, while Apple and Amazon declined. Financials led gains (+0.76%), while defensive sectors like consumer staples and real estate lagged. The Dallas Fed index fell to -2.3, though internal components improved. U.S. Treasury yields rose 2–3 bps. WTI crude gained another 2%, bringing weekly gains to 14%. Gold fell 1%, silver 1.8%. Markets were supported by news that Senator Thom Tillis backed Kevin Warsh for Fed Chair. Donald Trump criticized Tehran’s proposal, though the ceasefire holds and informal contacts continue.