Small Caps Rally, AMD Hits 13-Month Highs: What's Moving Markets Wednesday?

Tech-heavy indices were little moved on Wednesday, while small caps and blue chips surged as investors rotated into lagging names, signaling a broadening market rally.

• IWM ETF is breaking a key technical resistance. Check the chart here.

By midday in New York, the S&P 500 edged up 0.1% to 6,450, retreating slightly from a new all-time high of 6,480 hit earlier in the session. The Nasdaq 100 was unchanged, also setting new record highs during the session but failing to break the psychological 24,000-point mark. The Dow gained 0.7%, building on Tuesday's 1.1% rise.

Small caps extended their strong run, with the Russell 2000 up 1.3% after a 3% jump on Tuesday — putting it on track for its best two-day rally since April 9.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent intensified calls for the Federal Reserve to cut rates in September, urging a 50-basis-point reduction to make up for what he called missed cuts in June and July, had labor market data been accurate.

He also indicated rates should be 150–175 basis points lower than current levels.

His comments came a day after mixed July inflation data showed headline CPI holding at 2.7% year-over-year, below expectations of 2.8%, while core inflation accelerated to 3.1% from 2.9%, topping forecasts of 3%.

Healthcare and materials led equity gains, while industrials and utilities lagged.

Data center-linked names weakened, with GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV) — the S&P 500's second-best performer in 2025 after Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) — slumping 6% in its worst day in four months, likely on profit-taking after triple-digit year-to-date gains through August.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) outperformed once again in the semiconductor sector, jumping 5% to its highest since mid-July 2024 and doubling in value year-to-date.

In commodities, gold rose 0.3% and silver gained 1.6%, supported by a weaker dollar and falling Treasury yields on rate-cut bets.

Oil extended its slide amid excess supply worries, with WTI down 1.4% to $62.23 — its eighth loss in 10 sessions and the lowest since early June. Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was steady at $120,000.

Wednesday’s Performance In Major U.S. Indices, ETFs

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) inched 0.1% up to $59152.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) rose 0.8% to $448.08.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series (NASDAQ:QQQ) eased 0.1% to $579.69.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) soared 1.5% $230.19.
• The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLV) outperformed, up 1.5%; the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLU) lagged, down 0.6%.

Wednesday’s Stock Movers

• Stocks moving on earnings reports included Cava Group Inc. (NYSE:CAVA), down 15%, CoreWeave Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWV), down 18%, and Performance Food Group Company (NYSE:PFGC), up 4.1%.
• Paramount Skydance Corp. (NYSE:PSKY) jumped more than 40%.
• U.S.-listed Chinese stocks rallied after Beijing unveiled new measures to boost household spending, with Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:BABA) up 3%, Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) rising 3.7%, and Li Auto Inc. (NASDAQ:LI) gaining 3.6%.

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