High Oil Prices Persist as 84% of S&P 500 Firms Beat Q1 Estimates

High oil prices (WLDOIL) and mortgage rates near 7% continue to weigh on inflation and housing activity. Despite these pressures, corporate earnings have shown resilience, with roughly 84% of S&P 500 companies beating Q1 EPS estimates through cost cuts, efficiency gains, and concentrated AI spending. Microsoft posted ~18% revenue growth while Nvidia’s data-center revenue nearly doubled year-over-year, though strength remains concentrated among mega-cap tech names and may not reflect broader economic health.