Tech Stocks Rebound As US Treasuries Tumble: What's Driving Markets Wednesday?

Wall Street saw a tentative tech rebound early Wednesday, as investors begin to shrug off escalating U.S.-China trade tensions following a steep market selloff.

After the Trump administration announced a dramatic hike in tariffs on Chinese goods to 104% starting Wednesday, Beijing retaliated with an 84% tariff on American products. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended the aggressive trade stance, claiming the impact would ultimately backfire on China.

President Donald Trump took to Truth Social, writing, “BE COOL! Everything is going to work out well. The USA will be bigger and better than ever before!”

He encouraged investors by stating, “this is a great time to buy, DJT,” likely referring to Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. DJT, rather than the Dow Jones Transportation Index, which has dropped 18% since the tariff news broke.

Yet, broader risk sentiment remains subdued, with investors awaiting either a softer tone from the White House or a signal from the Federal Reserve—though both hopes appear to be fading.

By mid-morning in New York, tech stocks staged a rebound, lifting the Nasdaq 100 by 0.9%. Yet, the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average remained flat, while the Russell 2000 continued to underperform.

Meanwhile, U.S. Treasuries were failing to provide their traditional safe-haven support amid heightened uncertainty and volatility.

The 10-year Treasury yield surged 10 basis points to 4.40%, triggering a sharp selloff in medium- and long-dated bonds. The popular iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF TLT dropped 1.8%, extending its three-day slide to 6.6%—its worst performance since March 2020.

Gold prices, on the other hand, soared over 3% to $3,075 per ounce, on track for their strongest daily gain since October 2023.

Bitcoin BTC/USD also advanced, rising 1.4% to $77,289.

Wednesday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

Major Indices	Price	1-day %
Nasdaq 100	17,243.25	0.9%
S&P 500	4,980.40	0.0%
Dow Jones	37,576.14	-0.2%
Russell 2000	1,744.85	-1.1%

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY inched 0.3% up to $498.23.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA inched 0.1% up to $376.72.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series QQQ rose 1% to $420.50.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF IWM fell 0.9% to $173.58
• The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund XLK outperformed, up 1.6%; the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund XLU lagged, down 1.9%.

S&P 500’s Top 5 Performers

Name	Last	Chg %
Delta Air Lines, Inc. DAL	38.43	7.11%
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. AMD	82.60	5.62%
Intel Corporation INTC	18.97	4.62%
Tesla, Inc. TSLA	231.56	4.37%
Skyworks Solutions, Inc. SWKS	51.35	4.36%
Apple Inc. AAPL	179.89	4.33%

S&P 500’s Worst 5 Losers

Name	Last	Chg %
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. BMY	50.29	-5.24%
AbbVie Inc. ABBV	167.51	-4.64%
Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. ARE	73.55	-4.41%
Bank of America Corporation BAC	33.49	-4.40%
Incyte Corporation INCY	54.50	-4.34%

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Photo: Ryan DeBerardinis/Shutterstock