The S&P 500 climbed 0.5% during morning trading in New York, reaching a new all-time high by surpassing the 5,770 level, previously touched in late September.

The rally was fueled by a continued decline in oil prices, amid a lack of further escalation in the Middle East conflict and disappointing news regarding fiscal stimulus from China.

Investors are now focusing on the Federal Reserve’s next moves, with the minutes from the September meeting set to be released at 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

Eight of the S&P 500’s 11 sectors traded in positive territory, with utilities, materials and real estate being the only laggards. Technology and financials led the charge.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average mirrored the S&P 500’s performance, now trading within 1% of its record high, while small caps outperformed.

Oil prices, tracked by the United States Oil Fund LP USO, dropped another 1%, extending the sharp 5% selloff from Tuesday. The decline in crude prices provided relief to industries heavily reliant on fuel expenses, particularly airlines and cruise operators.

Cruise line stocks rallied as a result, with Norwegian Cruise Lines Holdings Ltd. NCLH, Carnival Corp. CCL, and Royal Caribbean Cruise Ltd. RCL soaring 9.7%, 6.7%, and 4.4%, respectively.

Treasury yields edged higher, with the 10-year yield rising by three basis points to 4.79%. Precious metals softened slightly, with gold eyeing its seventh consecutive session in the red.

Bitcoin BTC/USD remained stable, hovering around $62,000.

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

Major Indices	Price	1-day chg. %
Russell 2000	2,211.55	0.8%
Dow Jones	42,332.26	0.6%
S&P 500	5,781.58	0.5%
Nasdaq 100	20,193.47	0.4%

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY rose 0.5% to $575.81.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA rose 0.7% to $423.58.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series QQQ inched 0.4% higher to $491.40.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF IWM rallied 0.7% to $219.17.
• The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund XLK outperformed, up 0.7%. The Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund XLU lagged, down 0.8%.

Wednesday’s Stock Movers

• Alphabet Inc. GOOGL dropped 1.4% after the U.S. Department of Justice indicated on Tuesday it may seek a court order compelling the tech giant to divest key assets, including its Chrome browser and Android operating system. BMO Capital also lowered its price target for Alphabet from $222 to $215 per share.
• Shares of Astera Labs, Inc. ALAB surged 16% to $61.31 after the company unveiled a new portfolio of fabric switches designed specifically for AI infrastructure at cloud scale. In addition, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed its Overweight rating on the stock and raised its price target from $55 to $74, citing the potential growth from the new product line.
• Shares of utilities Constellation Energy Corp. CEG, Vistra Corp. VST and NRG Energy Inc. NRG tumbled 6.5%, 5.3% and 5%, respectively, marking the worst performers in the Russell 1000.
• Pfizer Inc. PFE rallied over 4%, eyeing its strongest day since May, after Starboard Value acquired a $1 billion stake.

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