S&P 500+0.37%▲: closed at 7,473.47, with gains concentrated in Utilities and Energy. Nasdaq+0.19%▲: closed at 26,343.97, with Technology roughly flat after mixed earnings. Russell 2000+0.91%▲: closed at 2,869.23, boosted by several large microcap moves. Dow+0.58%▲: closed at 50,579.70, supported by strength in Industrials and Energy. VIX-0.36%▼: finished at 16.70 as option-implied volatility ticked down modestly. Crypto: BTC trading near $76k and ETH around $2.11k, with prices holding recent gains. What's driving the market this week Oil prices swung lower mid-week after reports of progress in diplomatic talks tied to Middle East supply, helping energy-related pressure on stocks to ease and trimming near-term commodity risk. Select U.S. housing markets showed signs of improved attainability and regional demand, supporting Real Estate and related sectors as spring data pointed to more balanced activity in some metros. Large, company-specific spikes in low-float microcaps produced triple-digit winners and contributed to the Russell 2000’s outperformance, driven by a mix of partnership/announcement headlines and momentum trading.