Bulls Stampede On Wall Street: S&P 500 Smashes All-Time Highs, Dow Jones Marks Record Close, Nasdaq 100 Hits Mid-July Levels

Wall Street surged on Wednesday as traders cheered a pullback in oil prices and the lack of escalation in the Middle East, particularly regarding potential Israeli retaliation against Iran.

The broader market gains reflected optimism ahead of Thursday’s Consumer Price Index inflation report and the start of third-quarter earnings season.

S&P 500 Sets New Record

The S&P 500, as tracked by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY), climbed 0.8% to a fresh record high, closing at 5,792 points, near its intraday peak.

Blue-chip stocks also rallied, with the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSE:DIA) ending the day at 42,512 points, up 1%, just shy of its all-time high of 42,628 reached in late September.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100, tracked by the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ), ended 0.8% higher, closing at 20,268 points, its highest level since July 2024.

Small caps, as represented by the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM), inched up by 0.2%, underperforming versus large-cap counterparts.

Fed Minutes Highlight Rate Cut Debate

Investors digested the minutes from the September Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, which revealed extensive debate over whether to cut rates by 25 or 50 basis points.

Ultimately, the committee opted for the larger 50-basis-point cut, but the discussion underscored the ongoing uncertainty about the Federal Reserve's next moves.

Sector Highlights: Tech Outperforms, Utilities Lags

• The technology sector outperformed, rising 1.1%, while health care followed closely behind.
• Utilities were the only sector to close in the red, down 0.9%.
• Cruise lines were the notable industry gainers surged as lower fuel costs improved their outlook, while solar stocks and gold miners struggled under pressure from rising Treasury yields.

Top 5 Performers On The S&P 500

Worst 5 Performers On The S&P 500

Nasdaq 100’s Top 5 Gainers

Nasdaq 100’s Worst 5 Performers

Image created using artificial intelligence via MidJourney.