Here are the 3 big things we're watching in the stock market this week

It's time to connect. Earnings season is returning and hopes for a permanent solution to the Iran war suffered a setback at the weekend, adding new uncertainty to the trading week ahead. Let's take a closer look at the three big things we'll be watching over the next five days. 1. Iran war: Peace talks between the US and Iran in Pakistan this weekend failed; because the American delegation led by Vice President JD Vance left Islamabad without an agreement that would legalize a two-week ceasefire for a longer period. At the press conference, Vance said the real sticking point was Iran's reluctance to give up its pursuit of nuclear weapons. In a post on social media Sunday morning, President Donald Trump said the U.S. Navy "will begin the process of BLOCKING all Ships attempting to enter or exit the Strait of Hormuz, which in normal times is the vital transit route for approximately 20% of the world's oil exports." Iran has restricted traffic in the strait since the war began on February 28, causing a rise in oil prices due to supply disruptions. Even after a temporary ceasefire was reached last week, oil tankers were not quick to resume sailings in the waters. One reason: Iran reportedly failed to find all of the mines it had laid in the strait. The US began its mission to clear the mines on Saturday. The hope for investors heading into this weekend was that the peace talks would be constructive and progress would be made towards reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Neither of those boxes were cleanly checked, based on what we know Sunday morning. As we have throughout the war, we will look at the oil market this week as a barometer of how traders and investors view the possibility of a definitive solution. Earnings: Earnings season officially kicks off when banks start reporting (though we often wonder if it's actually over). There are three Club names on the list this week: Goldman Sachs before the bell and our newest name on Tuesday morning are Wells Fargo and Johnson & Johnson, both related to the effects of the Iran war. First: Has there been any change in the deal-making environment? This includes both mergers and acquisitions and the pipeline for initial public offerings. On the bear earnings call, Goldman CEO David Solomon said investment banking backlogs are at the highest level in four years. The hope is that uncertainty about the economic impact of the war won't dampen the morale of these animals. Expect analysts to ask Solomon about levels of activity, especially among the "sponsor" community, a term used for private equity firms (and other wealthy clients such as sovereign wealth funds) that frequently rely on investment banking services. The second area of focus: Trading as volatility from the war spreads into stock, bond, currency and commodity markets. How have its desks performed? Although shaky markets pose a risk to deal-making appetite, traders are pleased. Another issue expected to come up on Monday is the health of Goldman's flagship private lending fund, which has come under fire this year over concerns about AI disruption. Wells Fargo will report in a very different environment from last earnings season, when its stock was coming off fourth-quarter earnings and trading near all-time highs. Not this time, Piper Sandler analysts said in a note to clients Thursday that Wells Fargo is the "most pessimistic" major bank they've heard from investors as a lender to non-depository financial institutions (NDFIs) such as mortgage companies, private asset managers and insurers. This concern was further increased by the collapse of a UK-based private lender last month. “We are considering clarity. [Wells Fargo] “A general review of potential loss exposure and NDFI risk could be beneficial for shares,” analysts at UBS wrote to clients on April 7. Analysts argued that the outlook could be conservative on January 1 (perhaps to avoid the need to cut guidance like last year). Therefore, any indication of NII throughout the year will be welcomed. And anything Wells Fargo has to say about the organic growth initiatives of its fee-based businesses, particularly its fledgling investment banking unit, will be positive as the bank has operated without the Fed's asset ceiling for 10 months. Analysts surveyed by LSEG expect Wells Fargo to report revenue of $21.77 billion and earnings per share of $1.58 as of Friday. The purpose of buying shares in J&J last week was to improve the quality of our pharmaceutical assets and outperform Bristol Myers Squibb. A well-planned divestment of the medical technology business. Key drugs to watch based on first-quarter figures include Tremfya, its biggest drug by sales in 2025, an injectable treatment for inflammatory conditions such as plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and Crohn's disease. Last year, its sales rose 40.5% to $5.16 billion. Tremfya helps J. &J leads to fellow immunology drug Stelara losing patent protection. Tremfya belongs to a class of drugs called IL-23 inhibitors that have become popular as injectable products. But the exciting part of the J&J story is that its oral IL-23 inhibitor was approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat psoriasis last month, so we expect management's expectations for the drug to be a topic of conversation in the MedTech segment. The performance of its cardiovascular portfolio — it spent nearly $30 billion in recent years to acquire Shockwave and Abiomed to bolster that business — and its visionary ambitions, particularly for surgical procedures to treat cataracts and other vision disorders, led J&J to post earnings of $2.66 per share on revenue of $23.63 billion, according to LSEG on Friday. Inflation data: We'll explain this to your cousin after Friday's consumer inflation report. Week: Producer Price Index (PPI) PPI, which will be released on Tuesday morning, is a measure of how much producers are paid for their production (such as steel, hay and asphalt). Therefore, if businesses are paying more for their inputs, these costs will likely be passed on to consumers. But Friday's consumer price index (CPI) doesn't like it either. Although not as bad as feared, the impact of the Iran war was still evident in high energy prices. It will also feature prominently in Tuesday's PPI, which is expected to rise 0.7% and 3.4% respectively in February, excluding food and energy, economists surveyed by FactSet said. A decrease of 0.3% compared to the previous month and a decrease of 0.5% in February. Next week Monday, April 13 at 10 a.m. ET Before the bell: Goldman Sachs (GS), Fastenal (FAST) Tuesday, April 14 at 8:30 a.m. ET Before the bell: Wells Fargo (WFC), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), JPMorgan (JPM), BlackRock (BLK), Citigroup (C), CarMax (KMX) Wednesday, April 15 Import and Export Price Indices at 8:30 a.m. ET Federal Reserve Beige Book 2:00 PM ET Before the bell: ASML (ASML), Morgan Stanley (MS), Bank of America (BAC), M&T Bank (MTB), Progressive (PGR), PNC Financial (PNC) After the bell: JB Hunt (JBHT) Thursday, April 16 Initial Unemployment Claims 8:30 AM ET Philadelphia Fed Index 8:30 AM ET Before the bell: PepsiCo (PEP), Charles Schwab (SCHW), Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM), Prologis (PLD), Abbott (ABT), Travelers (TRV), BNY Mellon (BK), Citizens Financial (CFG), Infosys (INFY) After the bell: Netflix (NFLX), Alcoa (AA) Friday, April 17 Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization 9:15 a.m. ET Before the bell: Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB), Regions Financial (RF), Truist (TFC), Ericsson (ERIC), Ally Financial (ALLY), State Street (STT) (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long JNJ, WFC and GS. 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