Stock Market Today: April 28, 2026 — Chip Slide on OpenAI Report Pulls Nasdaq Lower
On April 28, 2026, the S&P 500 fell 0.49% to 7,138.80 and the Nasdaq dropped 0.9% as a Wall Street Journal report on slowing OpenAI revenue triggered a sell-off in AI chip stocks while WTI crude pushed above $100 a barrel on stalled US-Iran talks.
What Moved the Stock Market April 28, 2026
US equities snapped a multi-day rally as a Wall Street Journal report that OpenAI is missing internal revenue and user-growth targets cracked the AI complex on the eve of mega-cap tech earnings. The S&P 500 fell 0.49% to close at 7,138.80, the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.9% to 24,663.80, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was nearly flat — down 25.86 points, or 0.05%, to 49,141.93. Small caps took the worst of it: the Russell 2000 dropped 1.15% to 2,755.99 as rate-sensitive names sold off into Wednesday's FOMC decision. Breadth was negative across the board — chip stocks led the drag while energy was the lone bright spot on a 4% jump in WTI crude.
April 28, 2026 Volatility, Yields, and Commodities
The VIX ticked up roughly a point to close near 18.9, a modest move higher but still well inside its post-Iran-ceasefire range. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed to about 4.35% — a one-month high — as traders positioned defensively ahead of the Fed. The US Dollar Index (DXY) firmed to 98.7. WTI crude (CL=F) surged nearly 4% to settle above $100 a barrel, a seventh straight up-session driven by deadlocked US-Iran talks and continued near-zero traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Gold (GC=F) was little changed, extending its sideways grind since the spring breakdown.
April 28, 2026 Sector Performance
Energy was the standout in a session where defensives quietly outperformed. Tech and communication services bore the brunt of the OpenAI-driven repricing.
| Sector | ETF | Today % | YTD % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | XLE | +2.4% | +18.5% |
| Utilities | XLU | +0.6% | +11.2% |
| Consumer Staples | XLP | +0.4% | +6.8% |
| Financials | XLF | -0.1% | +9.2% |
| Industrials | XLI | -0.2% | +7.5% |
| Materials | XLB | -0.3% | +4.9% |
| Health Care | XLV | -0.4% | +5.3% |
| Consumer Discretionary | XLY | -0.5% | +6.1% |
| Real Estate | XLRE | -0.7% | +3.4% |
| Communication Services | XLC | -0.8% | +12.8% |
| Technology | XLK | -1.2% | +14.9% |
April 28, 2026 Biggest Stock Movers
NVDA -1.5%, AVGO -4.1%, AMD -3.0%, ORCL -3.2%. The AI infrastructure trade derated after the WSJ flagged OpenAI revenue running below internal plan, raising new questions about the durability of hyperscaler capex commitments. Broadcom and Oracle — the two names most directly tied to OpenAI-linked compute build-outs — led the slide, with Nvidia giving back part of last week's $5 trillion-cap milestone.
ERAS -48%. Erasca closed at $9.90 — a record one-day drop that intraday reached -55% — after the company disclosed that a 66-year-old pancreatic cancer patient in its ERAS-0015 trial died from severe pneumonitis. JPMorgan flagged the case as likely "one-off," and the drug's underlying response data (62% in lung cancer vs. 38% for Revolution Medicines' comparator) was actually strong — but headline risk overwhelmed the read-through.
IREN -8.1%. The Bitcoin-mining-turned-AI-cloud operator closed at $44.44 after a Bernstein price-target cut compounded broader AI-capex anxiety. Adjacent names moved in sympathy: CRWV -5.8% to $105.53 and NBIS -6.5% to $135.51.
KO +6.1%. Coca-Cola jumped after Q1 EPS of $0.91 (vs. $0.77 a year ago) and raised full-year comparable EPS growth guidance to 8–9% from 7–8%, citing favorable tax rates and continued mix shift toward zero-sugar and mini-can SKUs.
BBBY +28%. Bed Bath & Beyond posted Q1 revenue of $247.8M (vs. $240.1M consensus), its first year-over-year sales growth in 19 quarters. Adjusted EBITDA improved for the sixth straight quarter — losses persist, but the trajectory is what traders bought.
April 28, 2026 Earnings Highlights
KO — Q1 net income of $3.92B / $0.91 EPS, both above consensus. FY26 comparable EPS growth guidance raised to 8–9% from 7–8%.
UPS — Q1 revenue $21.2B with non-GAAP adjusted operating profit of $1.32B, ahead of estimates. CEO Carol Tomé held the full-year outlook but warned that an Iran-driven fuel-price spike could pressure late-2026 demand. UPS also flagged ~$5B in pending tariff refunds tied to CBP Phase 1 guidance.
SPOT -11%. Spotify topped Q1 EPS and revenue, but Q2 operating-income guidance of ~€630M came in light versus consensus and the stock got punished into the close.
What to Watch in the Stock Market on April 29, 2026
- FOMC decision at 2:00 p.m. ET, Powell presser at 2:30 p.m. CME FedWatch puts a hold at 3.50–3.75% at 94%. Statement language on the balance-sheet runoff and the dot-plot tone will move the long end.
- March advance durable goods orders before the open — the first hard read on capex demand post-tariff phase-in.
- After-hours mega-cap tech: MSFT, GOOGL, META, AMZN all report Q1 results. AI capex commentary will be the single most-scrutinized data point of the quarter — especially after today's OpenAI headline.
- Q1 advance GDP releases Thursday, April 30 at 8:30 a.m. ET — the BEA's first estimate is the print markets typically react hardest to.