by Coinstrooper Crypto Articles
Quick Take
  • The US stock market is showing a small red tick today, down 0.03% at press time, but it is not all bad.
  • March’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measure of price changes, came in hot at 3.3% year over year.
  • Yet soft core inflation and a strong AI-driven Nasdaq rally kept the damage contained.
  • Will war-driven headline inflation or softer underlying prices set the tone for April?

What Happened

1. March CPI Hits 3.3% as Iran War Energy Costs Surge Through

However, core CPI rose just 0.2% month over month and 2.6% year over year.

2. AI and Semiconductor Strength Lifts Nasdaq Into the Green

Market Context

The US stock market is showing a small red tick today, down 0.03% at press time, but it is not all bad. March’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measure of price changes, came in hot at 3.3% year over year. Yet soft core inflation and a strong AI-driven Nasdaq rally kept the damage contained.

Three forces shaped the session. All three connect to one question. Will war-driven headline inflation or softer underlying prices set the tone for April?

That matched expectations and kept Treasury yields stable. Markets read the split as a war shock rather than broad-based inflation.

Market breadth remained thin, with only about 42% of issues advancing. Gains stayed concentrated in large-cap tech and materials. Meanwhile, Healthcare, Financials, and Consumer Defensive stocks all fell, dragging the S&P and Dow lower while Nasdaq masked the weakness.

The S&P 500 now trades above all four Exponential Moving Averages (EMA), trend indicators that weight recent prices more heavily. That has not happened since February.

Utilities added +0.71% as yield-paying stocks attracted capital on an inflation-heavy day. Technology gained +0.62%, driven almost entirely by the AI semiconductor cluster following the TSMC beat.

Why It Matters

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported headline CPI rose 0.9% month over month and 3.3% year over year. That marked the highest annual increase since May 2024. Gasoline alone jumped 21.2% in a single month as the Strait of Hormuz disruption pushed fuel costs into the data.

While the S&P 500 and Dow slipped, the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.38%. AI and chip names drove the rally. Moreover, TSMC reported record first-quarter revenue, showing resilience despite geopolitical risk.

Details

Broadcom (AVGO) gained 4.54%. Nvidia (NVDA) added 2.29%. AMD (AMD) rose 3.43%. CoreWeave (CRWV) jumped after announcing multi-year cloud deals with Anthropic and Meta.

3. Narrow Breadth Reveals Rotation, Not Broad Conviction

What Happened to Major US Indexes?

At press time, three of the four major indexes are in the red.

Russell 2000 dropped 0.96 points (−0.37%) to 261.00

S&P 500 slipped 1.78 points (−0.03%) to 6,822.88

Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 229.48 points (−0.48%) to 47,956.30

The only outlier was Nasdaq Composite, which gained 85.65 points (+0.38%) to 22,908.10, hinting at rotation into tech.

The 20-day EMA at 6,657 is closing in on the 50-day at 6,719. Meanwhile, the 50-day approaches the 100-day at 6,731. Multiple bullish crossovers are lining up.

Since touching a possible bottom of 6,318 on March 30, the index has staged a V-shaped recovery. It has reclaimed levels last seen in mid-March. Yet the 0.618 Fibonacci level at 6,806 remains the critical threshold. Holding above that level keeps 6,939 and 7,108 in play. However, a drop below 6,806 would expose the EMA cluster near 6,719 to 6,731. Below that, 6,713 acts as the next floor.

Which Sectors Are Holding Up?

Basic Materials led with a +0.72% gain. Gold and silver strength supported the sector as higher CPI readings increase demand for real assets as inflation hedges.

Which Sectors Are Falling?