U.S. stock markets surged during Thursday’s midday trading session in New York, with major averages all showing gains.

Trader sentiment rebounded thanks to positive signals from corporate earnings and relief after Fed Chair Jerome Powell dismissed the possibility of a rate hike during Wednesday’s press conference.

The S&P 500 inched 0.3% up at 12:30 p.m. ET, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 slightly outperformed, up 0.6%. Semiconductors stood out as a bright spot, buoyed by robust quarterly results and optimistic guidance from Qualcomm Inc. QCOM. The iShares Semiconductor ETF SOXX rose 1.2%, after plummeting 3.4% Wednesday.

Small caps fared better than large caps, with the iShares Russell 2000 ETF IWM up 1%.

Treasury yields moved slightly lower after Wednesday’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting indicating reduced fears on potential upward moves in interest rates. The policy-sensitive 2-year yield fell to 4.9%, after touching 5.05% on Wednesday.

Commodities slid, with gold dropping by 0.8% and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) light crude declining by 0.5% to $78 a barrel, poised to close at its lowest level since Mar. 13, 2024.

Bitcoin BTC/USD slightly rebounded to $59,000 after tumbling to as low as $56,500 Wednesday.

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

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY rose 0.4% to $502.18, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA rose 0.4% to $380.46 and the tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ rocketed 0.6% to $424.21, according to Benzinga Pro data. 

Sector-wise, the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund XLK outperformed, up 0.7%, followed by the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund XLP, up 0.6%. The Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund XLB was the major laggard, down 1%.

Thursday’s Stock Movers

• Linde plc LIN fell 5.8% after the company missed quarterly revenue estimates.
• Other stocks reacting to earnings were ConocoPhillips COP down 1.6%, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. REGN up 3.8%, Cigna Group CI down 2.4%, Southern Co SO up 0.6%, Zoetis Inc. ZTS up 6%, Moodys Corp. MCO down 1%, Apollo Global Management Inc. APO up 3.9%, Moderna Inc. MRNA up 9%, American International Group Inc. AIG up 1.9%, MetLife Inc. MET down 4% and DoorDash Inc. DASH.
• Notable companies reporting after the close include Apple Inc. AAPL, Amgen Inc. AMGN, Booking Holdings Inc. BKNG, EOG Resources Inc. EOG, MercadoLibre Inc. MELI, Pioneer Natural Resource Company PXD, Monster Beverage Corp. MNST, Coinbase Global Inc. COIN and Fortinet Inc. FTNT.

Read Now: Sell In May And Go Away: Does The Trading Strategy Hold Up In Election Years?

Photo: Shutterstock