Stocks Edge Higher, Dollar Hits 1-Year Peak, Bitcoin Soars To $93,000: What's Driving Markets Wednesday?

Wall Street saw a modest rebound on Wednesday, spurred by an in-line inflation report that reinforced expectations for a December rate cut. The U.S. dollar continued to gain strength, buoyed by potential tariff tailwinds under the new Trump administration.

Bitcoin again captured headlines as it surged past $93,000, lifting its market capitalization to $1.8 trillion and fueling a wave of enthusiasm across crypto markets, with Dogecoin up over 12%.

The Consumer Price Index met expectations in October, with the annual headline rate increasing to 2.6% and the core rate steady at 3.3%.

The report alleviated concerns over a potential rate pause in December, driving market odds for a 25-basis-point cut from 58% to 82%, as per the CME FedWatch tool. Treasury yields eased slightly in response to the report.

By midday in New York, all major U.S. equity indices were in slightly positive territory, although with the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 underperforming. Leading sectors included consumer discretionary and real estate, while utilities and health care lagged.

In political developments, U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-SD) was elected as the new majority leader in a secret ballot.

The U.S. dollar, tracked by the Invesco DB USD Index Bullish Fund ETF UUP, hit its highest level since November 2023, marking a fresh one-year high.

Gold dipped 0.6%, on track for a fourth consecutive loss.

Wednesday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

Major Indices	Price	1-day %chg
Dow Jones	44,084.11	0.4%
Russell 2000	2,401.00	0.4%
S&P 500	6,002.13	0.3%
Nasdaq 100	21,073.91	0.1%

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY rose 0.3% to $598.42.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA rose 0.4% to $440.97.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series QQQ flattened at $513.06.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF IWM inched 0.3% higher to $238.1.
• The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund XLY outperformed, rising 1%. The Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund XLU lagged, down 0.3%.

Wednesday’s Stock Movers

• Rivian Automotive Inc. RIVN rallied over 18% after the company announced a joint venture launch with Volkswagen valued at up to $5.8 billion.
• Albemarle Corp. ALB rose 6% after Berenberg raised the stock price target from $81 to $102.
• Advanced Micro Devices Inc. AMD fell 2.4% after the company announced a 4% cut to its global workforce.

Stocks reacting to earnings report were:

• Spotify Technology S.A. SPOT, up 12%
• Occidental Petroleum Corp. OXY, down 1.2%
• Flutter Entertainment plc FLUT, up 6.5%
• Natera Inc. NTRA, up 22%,
• CAVA Group Inc., up 6.5%
• CyberArk Software Ltd. CYBR, down 0.3%
• Loar Holdings Inc. LOAR, down 6%

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