Flat QQQ leads SPY by 0.24 percentage points after firm PMIs, Hormuz orders and GPT-5.5

QQQ opened 0.24% below its previous close and finished essentially flat by 4:00 a.m. ET on April 24. SPY also opened 0.24% lower and finished down 0.23%, leaving QQQ ahead by 0.24 percentage points. At the end of regular trading, QQQ was down 0.56% and SPY was down 0.39%. Both recovered after hours, with the rebound larger in QQQ. Prices after 8:00 p.m. ET were carried because no new public trades were available. U.S. labor and business-activity data, security developments around the Strait of Hormuz, and OpenAI's new model release supplied the main context.