By Megan Leonhardt
Oil Down, Earnings Up. Hope is a powerful market force. Even in the face of continued pessimism from energy analysts, transportation exports, and geopolitical strategists, stocks rose on Tuesday. There was, apparently, just enough hope about Mideast peace talks to push markets higher.
The Nasdaq Composite Index rallied nearly 2%, securing its largest 10-day gain since 2022. The S&P 500 closed up 1.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 318 points, or 0.7%.
Oil prices fell this morning and stayed low amid fresh optimism for a resolution to the conflict between the U.S. and Iran. Brent crude oil prices hovered around $95 a barrel. The domestic benchmark, West Texas Intermediate crude, was around $92 per barrel when markets closed.
Oil prices trending lower helped drive much of Tuesday's market performance. But the start of earnings season is already providing a boost of its own. Three of the four largest banks in the country reported solid first-quarter earnings on Tuesday, with each firm citing consumers' resiliency amid the latest geopolitical uncertainty.
Another cooler-than-expected inflation print, this time from wholesale prices, also provided some juice. The producer price index for total final demand rose 0.5% in March, less than economists expected and on par with February's revised gain.
The surprisingly stable data were seen as evidence that the continuing oil shock could be prove to have less of an effect on the economy than initially anticipated.
The largely tame monthly gain in March, however, still translated to an annual rate of 4%, the largest 12-month advance since February 2023.
Crosscurrents in the underlying data helped temper the 15.7% month-over-month rise in gasoline prices. There are also early signs that perhaps the biggest pass-through effects of the Trump administration's higher tariffs could be behind us.
That said, the data were collected in mid-March and both regular and diesel prices have climbed steadily since. In other words, the market's celebration may still prove premature.
The Hot Stock: Robinhood Markets +10.4% The Biggest Loser: Akamai Technologies -6.4%
Best Sector: Communication Services +3.2% Worst Sector: Energy -2.2%
Sound Familiar? Thank AI.
It turns out that corporate executives and communication teams are as excited about AI as the rest of us. Barron's finds new evidence that they're using artificial intelligence to jazz up news releases, statements, and SEC filings.
How do we know? Well perhaps this sounds familiar: Coca-Cola global chief marketing officer Manolo Arroyo said in March during the NBA and Coca-Cola partnership announcement, "Basketball is not just a game; it's a global cultural engine."
That sentence structure is popping up everywhere these days, and linguists tie its popularity to AI models.
My colleague Shaina Mishkin found instances of similar phrasing in company documents and statements from insurance provider Progressive, Schwab Advisor Services, Citizens Financial Group, and Target.
Using AlphaSense's library of company documents, Shaina found that the "not just a___, it's a ___" structure roughly doubled among large U.S. companies in both 2024 and 2025.
The sentence structure hit its stride in the second half of 2025, with AlphaSense logging instances of this phrasing in company documents more than once a business day.
"The sentence construction 'it's not X, it's Y' is one of the biggest tells in AI," Jeff Gaunt, founder of Gaunt Strategies, told Shaina. Gaunt's firm specializes in crisis communications, media training, and integrating AI into corporate communications.
While several of the companies cited have stated that they are implementing AI tools, most noted that the comments were from real people -- perhaps in part because humans like this speech construction too.
When Shaina asked tech engineering company Synopsys about CEO Sassine Ghazi's recent prepared remarks that "engineering AI's future is not just a software challenge, it's a physics challenge," the firm said corporate communications, including prepared remarks for earnings, are human led with AI assistance for clarity and brevity.
"Regardless of whether AI assisted with this sentence, it's an accurate and well-made point," a Synopsys spokesperson said in response to Barron's query.
Read Shaina's full story here.
The Calendar
ASML Holding, Bank of America, J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Morgan Stanley, M&T Bank, PNC Financial Services Group, Progressive, and SL Green Realty announce earnings tomorrow.
The National Association of Home Builders releases its Housing Market Index for April. Consensus estimate is for a 38 reading, matching the March figure. Readings less than 50 indicate home builders have a dour outlook in the near term for the single-family house market.
The Federal Reserve releases the beige book for the third of eight times this year. The report gathers anecdotal information on current economic conditions from the Fed's 12 regional banks.
Wednesday is the deadline to file tax returns and pay any taxes due for 2025.
What We're Reading Today
-- AI Productivity Gains Hinge on Access and Training. Neither Are
Widespread Enough.
-- Bank Earnings Show Consumer Resilience, Even as Pressures Mount
-- Amazon Buys Satellite Company Globalstar
-- American Air Stock Rises on United Merger Pitch
-- Americans Have Always Hated Taxes. The 250-Year Battle Over Your Wallet.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 14, 2026 19:55 ET (23:55 GMT)
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