Nasdaq 100 Reaches Record Highs, Service Sector Strength Alleviates Economic Slowdown Concerns, Magnificent 7 Hits $15 Trillion Valuation: What's Driving Markets Wednesday?

Wall Street rallied Wednesday as the services activity gauge indicated a stronger-than-expected expansion in May, pushing back fears of an economic slowdown which surfaced in recent days.

Sentiment among service providers marked the highest monthly growth since August 2023, driven by robust increases in business activity and new orders, according to the ISM survey.

The Nasdaq 100 Index soared 1.6% to 18,940 points, marking a new all-time high for the tech-heavy benchmark.

Tech giants and semiconductor stocks continue to drive broader market gains. The combined market value of the Magnificent Seven reached the $15 trillion milestone, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF SOXX marked the strongest day in three months, as investor sentiment towards the AI narrative gained further strength.

The S&P 500 Index rose 0.9% to 5,335 points, nearing record highs. Small caps also rallied by 1.2%, while blue chips flattened.

Commodities rebounded following Tuesday’s declines, with gold, oil, and natural gas gaining 1.2%, 1.5%, and 5%, respectively.

Bitcoin BTC/USD was up 1.2%, eyeing its fifth straight session of gains, marking the longest positive streak since March.

In other news, the Bank of Canada cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.75%, as expected, indicating that monetary policy no longer needs to remain restrictive as inflation slows.

Chart Of The Day: Nasdaq 100 Roars Back To All-Time Highs

Wednesday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY was 0.9% higher to $532.97.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA rose 0.1% to $387.87.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust (ARCA: QQQ) rose 1.7% to $462.08
• Sector-wise, the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund XLRE outperformed, up by 1.9%, while the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund XLP lagged, down 0.5%.

Wednesday’s Stock Movers

• Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company HPE rallied 13% in reaction to the company’s quarterly results.
• Other stocks reacting to earnings were CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. CRWD, up 10.4%, Dollar Tree Inc. DLTR, down 4%, Brown Forman Inc. BF, down 6%, Campbell Soup Company CPB, up 0.3%, and Ollies Bargain Outlet Holdings Inc. OLLI, up 10.6%.
• Meme stocks including GameStop Corp. GME and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. AMC rallied 12.4% and 7.6%, respectively.
• Dutch chipmaker ASML Holding NV ASML rallied over 9% on reports that the company is planning to deliver its latest high-NA extreme ultraviolet chipmaking machines to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd TSM.
• Other chipmakers showing large gains Wednesday included Arm Holdings plc ARM, up 5.6%, Broadcom Inc. AVGO, up 5%, Micron Technology Inc. MU and Nvidia Corp. NVDA.

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Image generated using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.