U.S. stocks are higher at midday Wednesday, led by technology and software shares, after softer-than-expected inflation data eased fears of another Federal Reserve rate hike.
Oil is climbing again, however, and long-dated Treasury yields remain close to multi-decade highs.
Trump said he offered Iran "nothing" on sanctions relief, according to media reports, pushing back on suggestions that Washington was ready to soften its stance.
The comments kept the geopolitical risk premium in crude alive. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose about 2.2% to $91.38 a barrel. Brent crude gained about 2.8% to $98.84.
The 10-year Treasury yield hovered near 5.3%, close to its highest level since 2007, with the 30-year yield topping 5.6% and reaching its highest level since June 2002.
The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index rose 0.3% in August, and the annual rate slowed to 3.4% versus the 3.7% forecast. Core PCE also came in cooler than expected.
Separately, ADP reported private payrolls rose by 90,000 in September, above the 68,000 consensus.
Traders now price in less than a 40% chance of a 25-basis-point rate hike in October, following the inflation data.
Across U.S. equity markets by midday Wednesday, gains were led by growth and chip-related shares, while defensives and rate-sensitive groups lagged.
The S&P 500 advanced 0.6% to 7,717, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed near 51,350.
The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.9% to 30,605. Within the Magnificent Seven stocks, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) gained 3%, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) rose 2.4%, and NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) added 1.6%, while Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) dipped 0.7%.
The Russell 2000 rose 0.2% to 2,814.
Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) is due to report fiscal fourth-quarter results after the closing bell, with analysts expecting adjusted EPS of about $31.80 on revenue near $51.5 billion, while investors focus on the AI-driven HBM4 demand outlook, gross margins near 86%, and first-quarter revenue guidance.
Wednesday’s Performance In Major U.S. Indices
According to market data:
- The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) gained 0.6%.
- The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (NYSE:DIA) was flat.
- The Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) climbed 0.9%.
- The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) rose 0.2%.
Software and Biotech Catch a Bid as Oil Names Firm
The best-performing S&P 500 sector was technology, with the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLK) up 1.2%. The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLC) rose 0.8% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) gained 0.7%, while the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLY) and Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLB) were roughly flat.
On the downside, the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLRE) and the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLP) each fell 0.6%, the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLF) and the Industrials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLI) each lost 0.5%, the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLU) slipped 0.3% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLV) declined 0.2%.
Among industry funds, the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (BATS:IGV) rallied 1.8%, the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (NYSE:XBI) advanced 1.6% and the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (NYSE:XOP) climbed 1.7% alongside crude. The U.S. Global Jets ETF (NYSE:JETS) fell 1.3% as fuel costs rose.
Among corporate movers, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. (NYSE:HPE) rose 6.1% after announcing a $1.2 billion AMD Helios AI rack order from Vultr and lifting its networking outlook. FormFactor Inc. (NASDAQ:FORM) jumped 9.2% after Deutsche Bank initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $200 price target, citing the company’s position as a second-source probe-card supplier for Nvidia GPUs at TSMC.
Summit Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:SMMT) rose 6.8%, extending gains after AstraZeneca committed $2 billion via convertible preferred stock at an implied $18.36 per share, alongside positive ivonescimab survival data presented at ESMO and a Jefferies upgrade to Buy. Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN) gained 6.5% after management raised its fiscal 2027 outlook earlier this week to revenue of $5.375-$5.475 billion; no fresh company news was identified today.
United Therapeutics Corp. (NASDAQ:UTHR) led the Russell 1000 with a 14.1% surge, but no confirmed company-specific catalyst could be found for today’s move.
On the downside, Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL) fell 6.9% despite fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted EPS of $4.40 versus the $4.06 estimate, revenue of $10.6 billion versus $9.69 billion and fiscal 2027 EPS guidance of $17.55 versus the $16.92 consensus. Peer Sanmina Corp. (NASDAQ:SANM) slid 5.7%; the only fresh item was a downgrade to Hold at Zacks Research, with no company-specific news identified.
Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) dropped 6.9% after Citi downgraded the stock to Sell, citing valuation following a rally of more than 200%, while raising its price target to $80. Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE:NLY) lost 6% as Treasury yields held near multi-year highs, with the mortgage REIT breaking below technical support to a new 52-week low.
CarMax Inc. (NYSE:KMX) fell 5% even after reporting fiscal second-quarter EPS of $1.16 versus 64 cents a year earlier and sales of $7.9 billion, up 19%. Used-vehicle gross profit per unit declined $111 to $2,105; a consensus comparison could not be confirmed.
