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Market Snapshot

📉 Banana Bits

• Wall Street may soon package prediction markets into ETFs.

• Thailand’s central bank held rates steady to support the economy.

• Goldman sees oil topping $100 if a Hormuz blockade drags on.

• Japanese bonds are drawing strong foreign inflows after a year-long surge.

• An April BOJ rate hike is back in play, according to a former official.

Market News

Markets Just Did a 180

Global markets staged a relief rally after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a temporary ceasefire, easing fears of a prolonged Middle East conflict and disruption to oil supply.

The S&P 500 climbed 2.5%, while the Nasdaq 100 rose 2.9% and the Dow gained 2.8%, as investors rushed back into risk assets. WTI oil prices plunged 15% to about $96 a barrel, reversing earlier war-driven gains and easing concerns over an energy shock.

The shift in sentiment also lifted cr*ptocurrencies, with B*tcoin topping $71,000, while the VIX volatility index fell back to pre-war levels.

As safe-haven demand faded, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dropped 0.8%, and emerging-market stocks posted their biggest jump since the pandemic began. Airlines, previously hit by fears of soaring fuel costs, rallied sharply as crude retreated.

Investors also began reassessing macro risks. Lower oil prices revived expectations that the Federal Reserve could cut rates in 2026, while hedge funds rushed to unwind bearish bets on U.S. equities in what analysts described as a powerful short squeeze.

Strategists noted that if the ceasefire holds, markets could see a rotation away from defensive stocks toward more cyclical sectors, echoing patterns seen after the 1990 Gulf War shock.

Peel Take: Markets just flipped the “war trade” off and the “risk trade” back on. With oil falling and volatility cooling, investors are quickly rotating into equities and cr*pto, a reminder that in global markets, geopolitics can move prices faster than fundamentals.

What's Ripe

RPM International Inc. (RPM) 12.4%

• RPM surged 12% after reporting fiscal third-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street expectations.

• The multinational manufacturer of specialty coatings, sealants, and building materials also projected mid-single-digit sales growth for the fiscal fourth quarter, signaling steady demand across its industrial and construction segments.

• Peel Take: Strong results from industrial suppliers often signal resilient construction and manufacturing demand, suggesting the real economy may be holding up better than investors feared.

Carnival Corp. (CCL) 11.2%

• CCL surged 11%, making it one of the top-performing stocks in the S&P 500, as travel and leisure shares rallied alongside falling oil prices.

• Lower fuel costs eased pressure on cruise operators, which are highly sensitive to energy expenses. Norwegian Cruise Line climbed 7.6%, while Royal Caribbean Group gained 4.3%, helping lead a broader rebound in travel stocks.

• Peel Take: Turns out cheaper fuel is all cruise stocks needed to get their groove back. With oil prices back down, cost pressures eased, and investors rushed back into travel plays, because nothing says “bullish” like lower expenses and people still eager to go on vacation.

What's Rotten

APA Corp. (APA) 9.8%

• APA dropped 9.8%, making it the largest decliner in the S&P 500 as energy stocks retreated alongside falling oil prices.

• The selloff spread across the sector: Exxon Mobil fell 4.7%, Occidental Petroleum slid 5%, Diamondback Energy dropped 4.6%, and Devon Energy declined 4.1%, reflecting waning fears of supply disruptions after the ceasefire eased geopolitical tensions.

• Peel Take: When oil drops, energy stocks don’t waste time following it down. With geopolitical fears cooling off, the urgency around supply disruptions faded, and so did investor enthusiasm for names like APA.

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (LYB) 7.5%

• LYB fell 7.5%, making it one of the worst performers in the S&P 500. Commodity chemical stocks had rallied in recent weeks amid rising tensions in the Middle East, but that momentum faded after Tuesday’s ceasefire agreement, which eased fears of supply disruptions and sent commodity-linked shares lower.

• Peel Take: Commodity stocks had a nice run while tensions were high, but that trade unwound pretty quickly once things cooled down. Without the geopolitical boost, investors suddenly weren’t as excited about the space anymore.

🧠 Technical Trip

Interview Q&A from Barclays

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📚 Lesson from the Library

🎥 Master Financial Planning & Analysis: From Data to Decisions

Build forecasts, analyze performance, and turn data into business decisions.

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🌟 WSO Academy Q4 Update

🧠 Improved Mentor Preparation Before Sessions

We’ve also upgraded the system to give mentors more context about students’ background + prior sessions. Ultimately, equipping them with all the information they need about you before your session begins.

Mentors now have easier access to:

• Notes and feedback from students’ previous sessions

• Students’ progress within the program

• Students’ recruiting goals and timeline

This allows mentors to pick up right where the previous session left off and give more targeted advice during each call.

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🦈 Deal Dispatch

M&A, IPOs, And Other Notable Transactions

• Goldman-backed ride-hailing app Go is heading toward a Japan IPO.

• Seven & i is slowing IPO plans as its U.S. overhaul drags out.

• Anthropic’s tender offer closed with employees holding onto shares.

• Banks raised $3B to fund Meta’s Prometheus data center.

• General Atlantic is making a $3B move into Team Services.

📊The Daily Poll

Previous Poll:

What changes if oil trade shifts more toward yuan pricing?

Dollar dominance weakens: 63.9% // Limited global impact: 11.1% // Regional shift only: 16.7% // Symbolic move: 8.3%

Student Success Corner

👉 Are you next? Find out with WSO Academy

Banana Brain Teaser

Previous

If n is a positive integer and the product of all the integers from 1 to n, inclusive, is divisible by 990, what is the least possible value of n?

Answer: 11

Today

Clarissa will create her summer reading list by randomly choosing 4 books from the 10 books approved for summer reading. She will list the books in the order in which they are chosen. How many different lists are possible?

How Would You Rate Today's Peel?

Happy Investing,
Chris, Vyom, Ankit, Mitchell, Fernanda, & Patrick

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