S&P 500 Retreats Further on Iran Stalemate, OpenAI Miss Ahead of Fed

The S&P 500 pulled back on April 29, 2026, amid a persistent U.S.-Iran stalemate constraining Strait of Hormuz transit (Brent ~$107/bbl) and OpenAI's missed user/revenue targets hammering AI stocks like Nvidia, Microsoft, and Oracle. Markets had rallied to records near 7,158 in late April, recovering sharply from early war fears via ceasefire extensions, March retail sales +1.7% m/m, and 81-82% Q1 earnings beats projecting 16.1% growth. Pullbacks accelerated from April 23 as talks faltered, consumer sentiment hit a record-low 49.8, and oil surged, capping gains despite corporate resilience and a Fed meeting looming.