S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 Climb To Record Highs As Data Fosters Rate Cut Optimism Ahead Of Fed Minutes; Gold, Bonds Rally: What's Driving Markets Wednesday?

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indices surged to new all-time highs on Thursday, as investors heightened their expectations for rate cuts following June’s sharply lower-than-expected services sector activity, which experienced its worst contraction since May 2020.

Market-implied odds of a Fed rate cut in September rose from 65% to 72%, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool, with traders pricing in more than 50 basis points of rate cuts by year end, implying two fully priced rate reductions by the Fed.

Risk sentiment was particularly strong ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) Minutes, slated to be released at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Nvidia Corp. NVDA and the chip making industry, as tracked by the iShares Semiconductor ETF SOXX, rebounded, up 3.7% and 1.9%, respectively.

Strong gains also stemmed from gold miners, with the VanEck Gold Miners ETF GDX up 4.2%, eyeing one of the best-performing sessions year to date, driven by rising metal prices.

Expectations of lower interest rates fueled gold prices up by 1.4%, silver up by 3.5%, and copper up by 2.6%.

Treasury yields weakened sharply, with both the 10-year and 30-year yields down 7 basis points. The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF TLT rose 1.1%, rallying the most since June 13.

However, the crypto market faltered, with Bitcoin BTC/USD down 2.7% to $60,450.

Wednesday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

Major Indices	Price	1-day %chg
Nasdaq 100	20,168.73	0.8%
S&P 500	5,531.06	0.4%
Russell 2000	202.16	0.1 %
Dow Jones	39,273.72	-0.1%

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY was 0.3% higher to $550.85.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA was 0.2% lower to $392.45.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust (ARCA: QQQ) was 0.8% higher to $490.70.
• Sector-wise, the Technology Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund XLK outperformed, up by 1.3%, while the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund XLV lagged, falling 1%.

Wednesday’s Stock Movers

• Weight-loss giant Eli Lilly and Company LLY and Novo Nordisk A/S NVO tumbled 1.9% and 4% respectively, after a study conducted by the Massachusetts Eye and Ear showed that Ozempic and Wegovy are linked to higher risk of blinding eye conditions. Amgen Inc. AMGN and Viking Therapeutics Inc. VKTX also fell 1.9% and 2.2%, respectively.
• Tesla Inc. TSLA shares continued their upward momentum from Tuesday, rallying 5.5% after the electric-vehicle maker’s quarterly deliveries came in better than expected.
• Other EV-related stocks also rallied, with Lucid Group Inc. LCID up 8%, Archer Aviation Inc. ACHR up 15%.
• Paramount Global PARA surged over 7% following rumors from the Wall Street Journal that Skydance is once again interested in the deal to buy Paramount’s controlling company, National Amusements.
• Constellation Brands Inc. STZ fell 4.4%, marking the worst session since October 2023, amid lower-than-expected revenue last quarter.

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