U.S. stocks finished Wednesday on a split but broadly upbeat note, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite pushing higher on the back of strong bank earnings, renewed enthusiasm for artificial intelligence infrastructure, and a sharp pullback in oil prices following an easing of Middle East tensions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the day’s laggard, weighed down by weakness in industrial and consumer staples names, but the broader market celebrated another benchmark moment as the S&P 500 closed at a new record.
The S&P 500 (SPI:SP500) added 55.57 points, or 0.80%, to close at 7,022.95, eclipsing its prior high set in late January and marking its first finish above 7,000. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite led the major indexes with a gain of roughly 0.9%, helped by megacap technology and semiconductor names. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 72.27 points, or 0.15%, to settle at 48,463.72, as gains in Salesforce and Microsoft were offset by declines in Caterpillar, Cisco Systems, and Coca-Cola. Beneath the surface, the tone was risk-on: the 10-year Treasury yield hovered near 4.27%, WTI crude oil tumbled roughly 15% to around $96 per barrel following a ceasefire announcement that eased worries over Persian Gulf supply, and a cooler-than-expected Producer Price Index print reinforced the view that underlying inflation continues to drift lower.
Notable Movers
Tesla (TSLA) surged more than 6% after CEO Elon Musk touted a key milestone for the company’s next-generation AI5 chip and UBS lifted its rating on the stock from sell to hold, citing improved visibility on the automaker’s autonomy roadmap.
Broadcom (AVGO) jumped about 2.5% and Meta Platforms (META) added 0.8% after the two companies announced a deal in which Meta will deploy one gigawatt of custom AI accelerators built on Broadcom technology — the latest sign that hyperscaler capital spending on AI silicon remains robust.
Morgan Stanley (MS) soared more than 5% after posting record first-quarter revenue, with strength across trading and wealth management. Bank of America (BAC) climbed 2.5% following a profit beat of its own, kicking off big-bank earnings season on a positive note and easing fears that slower loan growth would drag on results.
Caterpillar (CAT) was the Dow’s biggest drag, falling roughly 2% as investors rotated out of cyclicals after oil’s sharp decline and reassessed the global capital-spending outlook.
Looking Ahead
With the S&P 500 now in uncharted territory, attention shifts to the heart of first-quarter earnings season. Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and a slate of regional banks report in the coming sessions, and traders will be watching for confirmation that the strong starts from Bank of America and Morgan Stanley extend across the industry. On the economic side, investors will parse retail sales, housing data, and further commentary from Federal Reserve officials for clues on whether the recent run of soft inflation prints is enough to keep rate-cut expectations intact. Geopolitics also remains a wild card — the oil market’s sharp unwind shows how quickly sentiment can swing, so any renewed flare-up in the Middle East could test the rally as quickly as this week’s easing fueled it. For now, the path of least resistance remains higher, but earnings quality and the tone of forward guidance will determine whether the S&P’s breakout has staying power.