$86 billion buy orders! US stocks will continue to soar next week!

On April 17, 2026, when the S&P 500 index crossed the 7,100 mark at midday, the applause that erupted on the trading floor was not just a tribute to a numerical milestone, but a cheer for the end of a geopolitical nightmare. Once again, it validated the judgment we made last Friday on U.S. Stock Investment Networkin our article!

We at U.S. Stock Investment Network believe this was a dual driving force from two dimensions:On one hand, there was a breakthrough in the US-Iran ceasefire agreement in Islamabad, and the Strait of Hormuz, a global energy chokepoint, was reopened; on the other hand, Goldman Sachs data revealed that quantitative trend-following funds (CTA) were executing an epic buying spree, injecting $86 billion into US stocks in just one week.

From the perspective of investment bank research frameworks, this is not only a recovery of risk appetite, but also a “short squeeze massacre” and a drastic asset rebalancing driven by algorithmic mechanics.

The S&P 500 finally closed at 7,126.06 points, up 1.20% on the day, achieving an impressive gain of 11.89% over the past three weeks. The Nasdaq, fueled by13 consecutive trading daysof gains, set the longest streak of positive momentum since 1992. The quality of this rally lies in its breadth; today, after a month-long “wartime correction,” the Russell 2000 small-cap index finally returned to its intraday all-time high, signaling that the market’s macroeconomic pricing has shifted from “recession hedging” to “peace-time expansion.”

“Technical Resumption” of the Strait of Hormuz

The most prominent market pricing anchor today was undoubtedly the public statement on social platform X by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. He announced that with the two-week US-Iran ceasefire agreement now in effect, the Strait of Hormuz is fully open to all commercial vessels. For the global supply chain, the significance of this announcement outweighed any corporate earnings reports. Previously, as Araghchi confirmed that ships could travel along Iran-approved “coordinated routes,” the market instantly shed a heavy energy risk premium.

Trump, in a phone interview from Las Vegas, further confirmed the imminent peace agreement. He revealed that Iran had agreed to nearly all negotiation demands, including the crucial nuclear arsenal clearance plan.

The collapse in oil prices ignited asset rotation today. WTI crude closed down 10.24% to $84.68, marking the biggest single-day drop since the 2026 conflict erupting. This decline reflects traders not only trading the current reopening, but also trading the downgrading of global inflation expectations. As a StoneX strategic analyst noted,although full infrastructure restoration may take years, the return of “liquidity” means the harshest moments of the energy shortage are now behind us.

$86 Billion Buy: US Stocks to Continue Soaring Next Week!

If the peace news is the spark, then the latest CTA (quantitative trend-following fund) buying data disclosed by Goldman Sachs is the fuel.

According to Goldman Sachs monitoring, in the past five trading days,CTA funds’ buying spree in the US stock market reached $86 billion, a figure that ranks among thetop five in history . Purchases on this scale feature distinctly “mandatory” characteristics. During the late March market slump triggered by war escalation, these trend-following algorithms amassed huge short positions. However, the sudden reversal of circumstances in early April led to a stampede of short covering.

Even more encouraging for bulls is Goldman’s prediction model:in the next five trading days, even if the S&P 500 index only oscillates within a narrow range, the CTA group still needs to execute about $70 billion in “passive buying”.

Historical backtests show that during the initial surge in CTA demand, the market often experiences a brief period of consolidation (2-week average return of -0.51%), but with the continued inflow of funds, the medium-term performance is highly attractive, with a three-month average return rate of 8.18%. This influx of quantitative capital provides a solid “safety cushion” above the 7,100 level for the S&P index and has prompted previously hesitant institutional capital to change its stance. The skew on S&P 500 call options is surging, indicating that institutional investors have shifted from a defensive stance to a proactive long position.

Conclusion

We at U.S. Stock Investment Network believe that today will be remembered as a turning point in US stock market history.The S&P 500 closed at 7,126.06 points, marking that the market has absorbed this most severe regional conflict in recent years. The epic CTA short covering confirmed a technical reversal, while the diplomatic breakthrough in Islamabad solidified the fundamental foundation.