What is happening across this Global Week Ahead?

It's disappointment once again for financial markets — after U.S. President Trump dashed hopes for a swift end to the Iran war.

In addition to elevated headline risk, there's plenty coming up on the docket for traders scrambling to price how much strain the global economy will face as they come to grips with the sharpest oil supply shock in history.

Next are Reuters’ five world market themes, re-ordered for equity traders—
 

(1) Multiple Levels of Market Uncertainty Rise, and Rise More

Ask any trader, investment strategist or economist how the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran plays out and the reply is broadly the same: It's anyone's guess.

Lesson learned. Traders who kicked off April betting an end to the war was in sight were wrong-footed as Trump vowed more aggressive strikes on Iran.

Equity prices tumbled and yields on battered bonds are rising again in response, demonstrating the uncertainty markets face at the start of the second quarter.

Analysts say global stocks remain vulnerable to a deeper correction.

Even if hopes revive for a resolution to the conflict, damage inflicted on Middle East energy infrastructure and high energy prices will still hurt economies.

Indeed, after a brutal March, the narrative in bond markets is shifting slowly from inflation angst to growth fears.

Oil, of course, remains the key barometer.
 

(2) On Sunday, OPEC+ Met to Discuss the Iran Conflict-Global Oil Shock

OPEC+ ministers met on Sunday, but the scale of disruptions they have faced and resulting output cuts by Gulf countries means they have little room for maneuver. Oil output quotas among this oil-producing consortium by 206K barrels per day (/bbl).

Oil prices, which posted a record 60% jump in March, resumed their surge Monday, crossing $110/bbl on the WTI.

The eight members — Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Oman, Algeria, Kazakhstan, Kuwait and the UAE — had been gradually raising output before the conflict erupted a month ago.

The International Energy Agency estimates the war has already removed about 12 million barrels per day of oil production, about 12% of global consumption.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have rerouted some flows to ports away from the Strait of Hormuz, but Iraq and Kuwait are struggling with export constraints.
 

(3) On Friday, U.S. Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) Data Comes Out for March

U.S. inflation data on Friday of next week is the next key gauge for investors trying to judge how much the Iran war is pushing up prices and pinching consumers.

Consumer prices likely jumped +0.9% on a monthly basis, according to a Reuters poll — the most since 2022. The core number, stripping out food and energy costs, is seen rising by a much more modest +0.3%.

Spiking oil prices this week pushed the U.S. national average ‌retail price of gasoline above $4 a gallon for the first time in more than three years.

That won't go unnoticed in Washington in a key election year. It's also tricky for a Federal Reserve juggling risks to the labor market. The war has wiped out trader bets on a rate cut this year.

The Fed's favored inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, is also due next week, although it's for February.
 

(4) Fresh Inflation Readings Across an Oil-Shocked Asia Also Come Out

The hit from higher oil prices is global, but it's magnified in Asia — which sources 60% of its crude from the Middle East — and businesses of every kind are feeling the pain.

Inflation readings across the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan and China will offer an indication of just how much strain these economies face.

Adding to headwinds, Asian currencies have come under heavy selling pressure against a resurgent dollar this month, essentially making imports more expensive and squeezing households.

However, investors are betting China's economy will be largely insulated from the oil shock, thanks to its ample crude stockpiles, dominance in green energy and subdued consumer price pressures.
 

(5) On Wednesday, the Reserve Bank of India Likely Keeps Its Policy Rate

Another major Asian oil importer, India also bears watching.

The Reserve Bank of India is tipped to keep its main repo rate at 5.25% on Wednesday.

But it's in a tough spot as economists cut their growth forecasts at a time when surging energy prices will soon start showing up in inflation numbers given the rupee's recent record lows.

If the Middle East conflict begins to abate, the policy rate is unlikely to budge for the rest of the year.

But the pace of the rupee slide has clearly worried the RBI, which has already thrown billions of dollars of reserves at the problem in the past few weeks and taken a number of increasingly unorthodox steps to try and halt the tumble.

Also on Wednesday, rate setters will meet in New Zealand.

Markets see little chance of a hike, but the central bank chief has warned a prolonged energy shock could warrant policy tightening down the line.
 

Zacks #1 Rank (STRONG BUY) Stocks

Here are three large-cap Zacks #1 (STRONG BUY) picks, moving stock markets.

(1) Woodward (WWD Quick QuoteWWD - Free Report) : This is a $372 a share stock, with a market cap of $22.2B. It is found in Zacks Aerospace and Defense industry. The stock holds a Zacks Value score of F, a Zacks Growth score of C, and a Zacks Momentum score of D.

F12M P/E: 44.2.
 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Woodward, Inc., being an independent designer, manufacturer and service provider of energy control and optimization solutions, provides a wide array of products for fuel, combustion, fluid, actuation and electronic applications, which serve the commercial aerospace, business jet, military and energy markets.

It also engages in aftermarket repairs, replacements and other service support operations. It serves the aerospace and energy markets through 2 reportable segments: Aerospace and Industrial.

The Aerospace unit comprises the Aircraft Turbine Systems and the Airframe Systems business groups and is involved in the production, designing and servicing of products for the management of fuel, air, combustion and motion.

The products like pumps, cockpit controls, motors and sensors under this unit, are used by companies like The Boeing Company and General Dynamics Corp.

The Industrial unit comprises the Industrial Turbo Machinery Systems, and the Engine Systems and Electrical Power Systems business groups.

(2) ASICS Corp. ADRs (ASCCY Quick QuoteASCCY - Free Report) : This is a $27 a share stock, with a market cap of $20.2B. It is found in the Zacks Leisure & Recreation industry. The stock holds a Zacks Value score of D, a Zacks Growth score of A, and a Zacks Momentum score of C.

F12M P/E: 24.6.

ASICS manufactures and sells sporting goods principally in Japan, North America, Europe, China, Oceania, Southeast and South Asia and internationally.

It offers running shoes, apparel, and sports accessories and equipment.

ASICS Corp. is based in Kobe, Japan.

(3) Credo Technology Group (CRDO Quick QuoteCRDO - Free Report) : This is a $101 a share stock, with a market cap of $18.7B. It is found in the Zacks Electronics-Semiconductor industry. The stock holds a Zacks Value score of F, a Zacks Growth score of B, and a Zacks Momentum score of A.

F12M P/E: 30.8.
 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd. is a provider of high-performance serial connectivity solutions for the hyperscale datacenter, 5G carrier, enterprise networking, artificial intelligence and high-performance computing markets.

At the core of Credo’s business is its Serializer/Deserializer (SerDes) and Digital Signal Processor (DSP) technology stack.

Leveraging this foundation, Credo offers a diversified suite of solutions, including integrated circuits (ICs), retimers, optical DSPs, Active Electrical Cables (AECs), SerDes chiplets and SerDes IP licensing.

The fabless company uses foundry/assembly/test partners and operates globally with offices in North America and Asia; it was founded in 2008 and incorporated in the Cayman Islands in September 2014.

Markets served include hyperscalers, cloud providers, OEMs, optical module makers, enterprise networking, and HPC. Product focus spans Ethernet and PCIe from 100G to 1.6T and PCIe Gen5-6, emphasizing power efficiency and signal integrity across copper and optics via mature process nodes (n-1 advantage) and proprietary SerDes/DSP architectures.

Fiscal 2025 revenues were $436.8 million (up 126.3% from fiscal 2024) driven mainly by AEC ramps. Product sales and engineering services were 97% of revenue while IP licensing was 3%. Net income was $52.2 million in fiscal 2025 compared with a $28.4 million net loss in fiscal 2024.

Nearly 15% revenues came from North America and 85% from other regions (primarily Asia) in fiscal 2025.

Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd. is based in San Jose, California.
 

Key Global Macro

This Friday’s CPI data from the U.S. (in March) is the key global macro print this week.

On Monday, the ISM services PMI for March comes out. I see a March consensus for 55, following a prior February reading of 56.1.

On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) likely keeps its current 2.25% policy rate.

On Wednesday, Euro Area retail sales for February come out. I see a +2.0% y/y annual reading is the prior mark.

The latest FOMC minutes come out.

On Thursday, the U.S. core PCE for February should be up +0.4% m/m, in line with the prior reading of +0.4% m/m. In annual terms, look for +3.0% y/y this time, following a +2.9% y/y reading last time. Consider this stale data, at this point.

On Friday, the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) for March comes out. The prior core reading was +2.5% y/y. But that was data from before the Iran conflict started.

The preliminary April U. of Michigan consumer expectations index also comes out. The prior March reading was a low 51.7.
 

Conclusion

What Zacks Research Director Sheraz Mian shared on Earnings, April 2nd, 2026 —

The Earnings Big Picture

For Q1-2026 as a whole, total S&P500 earnings are expected to increase by +13.4% from the same period last year on +9% higher revenues.

The chart below shows the Q1-26 earnings and revenue growth expectations, in the context of where growth has been in the preceding four quarters, and what is expected in the coming three quarters.
 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Estimates for the current period (Q1-26) have largely been stable, with a steady uptick in recent weeks, as the chart below shows.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

We noted earlier how estimates for the Energy sector have benefited from the ongoing Iran war. But the positive revisions trend reflected in the above chart isn’t solely or even mostly due to the Energy sector. Q1 earnings estimates have increased for 7 of the 16 Zacks sectors since the start of January 2026, including Tech, Construction, Basic Materials and Energy.

The two sets of charts below divide the S&P 500 index into cyclical and non-cyclical sectors, with cyclical sectors accounting for 43.2% of total 2026 Q1 index earnings and non-cyclical sectors accounting for 56.8%.

The cyclical grouping includes the 11 Zacks, out of the 16 in the index, that can broadly be described as ‘cyclical.’ These include Consumer Discretionary, Retail, Autos, Basic Materials, Industrials, Construction, Conglomerates, Energy, Finance, Transportation, and Business Services.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The non-cyclical grouping includes Consumer Staples, Medical, Technology, Aerospace, and Utilities.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The chart below shows the overall earnings picture on a calendar-year basis, with double-digit earnings growth expected in 2026 (and the next two years).

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

That’s it for me.

Enjoy the week’s trading and investing!

John Blank, PhD.
Zacks Chief Equity Strategist and Economist