U.S. stocks hit fresh milestones this week as the S&P 500 closed above the 7,000 mark for the first time, finishing at about 7,022.95 on April 20, 2026, erasing losses incurred during the U.S.-Iran conflict. The Nasdaq also reached record territory, closing near 24,016, while the Dow dipped modestly. The S&P's rise followed an 11-trading-day surge that pushed gains above 10% from late-March lows. Market participants cited a fragile ceasefire in the Middle East, reports that the Strait of Hormuz is open again and an earnings season that has so far beaten expectations as key tailwinds. Volatility indicators have cooled and sentiment gauges moved off “extreme fear.” But analysts warn the rally’s breadth was initially narrow — only a small fraction of index components were at 52-week highs when the S&P cleared 7,000 — and crude oil remains elevated, posing inflation and growth risks if geopolitics flare again. The next phase of corporate earnings and whether gains broaden beyond a handful of stocks will be pivotal for sustaining the advance.

April 20, 2026 — Agnico Eagle Mines announced a trio of transactions to consolidate a large land package in Finland’s Central Lapland Greenstone Belt. The Toronto-based miner will acquire Rupert Resources in a deal valued at C$2.9 billion, buy Aurion Resources for about C$481 million in cash (C$2.60 per share) and acquire B2Gold’s 70% stake in the Fingold joint venture for $325 million. The moves, expected to close with the B2Gold sale this month and the Rupert and Aurion deals by early Q3 2026, will integrate the Ikkari project with Agnico’s existing Kittilä mine, consolidating roughly 2,492 sq km of tenure. Agnico projects the combined Finland assets could form a long‑life hub producing about 500,000 ounces of gold annually, and expects up to C$500 million in operating and development synergies from shared infrastructure and removed property boundaries. The company plans C$20 million of drilling at Ikkari over 18 months and C$60–100 million in a three‑year regional exploration programme. Market reaction on the announcement saw Agnico shares fall (~2.7%) while Rupert and Aurion jumped sharply.

Canada’s annual inflation rate accelerated to 2.4% in March, Statistics Canada said on April 20, with prices jumping 0.9% month‑on‑month — the biggest monthly increase in 14 months. A sharp spike in gasoline prices, driven by crude supply disruptions linked to the Iran war and near‑closure of the Strait of Hormuz, pushed gasoline up 21.2% from February and 5.9% year‑on‑year. Food prices also contributed, with store‑bought food up 4.4% and fresh vegetables rising 7.8%. Core measures remained calmer: the CPI‑median held at 2.3% and CPI‑trim eased to 2.2%. Comparisons were partly muted by the removal of a carbon levy in April 2025. The Bank of Canada has signalled it will look through an initial energy‑driven spike; money markets expect no rate change at the upcoming meeting and price in a modest hike by year‑end. The Canadian dollar and two‑year government yields showed only small movements following the release. A temporary federal fuel tax cut (about 10 cents per litre) begins April 20, aimed at softening the pump‑price impact on households.

Tesla faces a pivotal earnings report after markets close April 22 as its energy storage business increasingly offsets weakness in vehicle margins and fading high-margin regulatory credits. Wall Street estimates the energy unit will generate about $18.3 billion in 2026, with gross margins near 29%, and could account for roughly a fifth of total revenue. Analysts model Tesla’s Q1 revenue at about $21.2 billion and vehicle deliveries near 358,000, but automotive gross margin is expected to fall to the mid-teens. CEO Elon Musk’s push to build new assembly lines and robots — a roughly $20 billion program this year — is forecast to push Tesla to its first quarter of negative cash flow in two years (estimated cash burn about $1.44 billion). Operational signs are mixed: energy deployments were 8.8 GWh in Q1 (down 15% year-on-year) even as revenue share rises. At the same time Tesla is managing legal and regulatory noise: a U.S. DOJ decision not to assist French investigators probing X, a planned interview of Musk in Paris, a class-action suit claiming misleading FSD hardware claims, and Tesla China denying immediate mass robot production in Shanghai. Insider selling and lofty valuation metrics add to investor scrutiny.

MUMBAI, April 20 (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India on April 20 rolled back key parts of emergency rules it imposed earlier in April to curb speculative trades that had pushed the rupee to record lows. The April 1 ban on banks offering non‑deliverable forwards (NDFs) and the prohibition on rebooking cancelled forward contracts have been withdrawn. The central bank also relaxed restrictions on related‑party transactions to permit cancellation and rollover of existing contracts and back‑to‑back deals with non‑resident entities, while keeping a $100 million cap on banks’ net open rupee positions in the onshore market. The measures were first introduced after the rupee slid past 95 to the dollar in late March amid geopolitical uncertainty and rising crude prices; the currency recovered about 2% after initial curbs and has since traded in roughly a 92.50–93.50 range. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra and officials have framed the curbs as temporary; the partial rollback is aimed at restoring normal hedging activity while maintaining guardrails against arbitrage and speculative positioning.

Eli Lilly has agreed to acquire Boston‑based Kelonia Therapeutics in a deal valuing the clinical‑stage biotech at up to $7 billion, the companies said in announcements and media reports on April 19–20, 2026. Lilly will pay $3.25 billion upfront with the remainder contingent on clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones, and expects the transaction to close in the second half of 2026 subject to customary approvals. Kelonia’s lead program, KLN‑1010, is an investigational one‑time intravenous in‑vivo CAR‑T therapy targeting BCMA for multiple myeloma built on the company’s iGPS lentiviral gene‑delivery platform. Early Phase 1 data were presented at ASH 2025. The acquisition follows Lilly’s February purchase of Orna Therapeutics and expands its genetic‑medicine and oncology pipeline, aiming to address manufacturing and access barriers associated with ex‑vivo CAR‑T therapies.