Risk-on sentiment dominated Wall Street on Wednesday, as upbeat earnings reports and conciliatory messages from the Trump administration helped lift investor confidence.
The administration eased market fears on two major fronts that have recently weighed heavily on sentiment. On the trade front, tensions with China appeared to thaw, with reports suggesting the White House is considering reducing tariffs on certain categories of goods.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent added fuel to the rally, stating U.S.-China tariffs are unsustainable and will likely need to be lowered to facilitate meaningful negotiations.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump offered an abrupt shift in tone toward Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, saying he has no intention to fire him, a remark that helped calm concerns over political interference in monetary policy.
By midday in New York, the S&P 500 was up by nearly 2%, though it had earlier climbed even higher. The Nasdaq 100 outperformed with a 2.5% gain, driven by strength in Magnificent Seven stocks.
Trump's pivot on Powell pushed Treasury yields lower across the curve, with the 30-year yield falling five basis points to 4.83%, after briefly topping 4.90% the previous day.
On the macro front, flash Purchasing Managers’ Index surveys revealed slowing growth momentum in the U.S. economy, as the services sector decelerated sharply following the impact of recent tariff shocks.
The U.S. dollar strengthened, while gold plunged 2.6%, heading for its worst session since November.
Oil prices dropped more than 2% following speculation that OPEC+ may announce a new output hike as early as next month.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) held steady around $93,000.
Wednesday’s Performance In Major U.S. Indices, ETFs
| Major Indices | Price | Chg | 1-day % |
| Nasdaq 100 | 18,732.09 | +455.68 | 2.5% |
| Russell 2000 | 1,926.45 | +37.40 | 2.0% |
| S&P 500 | 5,384.67 | +96.91 | 1.8% |
| Dow Jones | 39,724.87 | +537.89 | 1.4% |
According to Benzinga Pro data:
- The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) rose 1.9% to $537.35.
- The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) rose 1.4% to $397.79.
- The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series (NASDAQ:QQQ) rallied 2.7% to $456.50.
- The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) soared 2.1% to $191.47.
- The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLK) outperformed, up 3.44%; the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLP) lagged, down 1.2%.
Wednesday’s Stock Movers
- Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) jumped 6.6% despite falling short on both earnings and revenue expectations, as CEO Elon Musk reassured investors by pledging to scale back his involvement with DOGE and refocus on the company.
Other stocks reacting to earnings report included:
- Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG): up 2.8%
- Chubb Limited (NYSE:CB): down 2.6%
- Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE:COF): up 4.6%
- Steel Dynamics Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD): up 4.7%
- EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT): up 3%
- Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG): down 1.7%
- Baker Hughes Co. (NASDAQ:BKR): down 4.3%
- Enphase Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:ENPH): down 14.4%
- Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO): down 0.5%
- Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM): up 2.6%
- NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE): up 1%
- Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX): up 4.8%
- General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD): down 3.4%
- Boeing Co (NYSE:BA): up 5.7%
- Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC): up 1.4%
- CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME): down 3.8%
- TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL): up 2.7%
- Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH): up 9.9%
- AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T): up 0.8%
- Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL): up 1.3%
- Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation (NYSE:WAB): up 7.2%
- Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS): down 2.1%
- Avery Dennison Corporation (NYSE:AVY): down 2.4%
- Lennox International Inc. (NYSE:LII): down 8.2%
- GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV): up 5.2%
- Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:TDY): down 1.7%
- Otis Worldwide Corp (NYSE:OTIS): down 6%
- Stocks slated to report earnings after the bell include Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG), O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORLY), Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF), Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH), Texas Instruments Inc (NASDAQ:TXN), FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE), ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW), Lam Research Corp (NASDAQ:LRCX), Resmed Inc. (NYSE:RMD), Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS), International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM), Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM), Rollins Inc. (NYSE:ROL), United Rentals Inc. (NYSE:URI), Tyler Technologies Inc. (NYSE:TYL), Edwards Lifesciences Corp (NYSE:EW), Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS), and Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK).
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