U.S. stocks gained for the second straight day on Wednesday, but closed off their session highs, on renewed hopes that the trade tensions between the U.S. and China could ease, while President Donald Trump assured that he had no plans to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. All three major indexes ended in positive territory.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 1.1% or 419.59 points, to finish at 39,606.57 points. The blue-chip index had jumped as much as 1.189.13 points at its session high
The S&P 500 gained 1.7% or 88.10 points to close at 5,375.86 points, its highest closing level since April 15. Tech and consumer discretionary stocks were the biggest gainers.
The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) jumped 2.9%, while the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) gained 2.2%. Ten of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in positive territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq added 2.5% or 407.63 points to end at 16,708.05 points.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 6.93% to 28.24. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 3.28-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 2.87-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues. A total of 17.40 billion shares were traded on Wednesday, lower than the last 20-session average of 19.18 billion.
Trade War Fears Subside, Lifting Investor Sentiment
Stocks rallied for the second consecutive session Wednesday on renewed hopes that the trade tension between the United States and China could ease in the coming days. This came after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that both the U.S. and China have a chance to crack a “big deal” on trade.
“If they want to rebalance, let’s do it together,” Bessent said on Wednesday. Bessent’s comments come a day after Trump said that he would be nice in negotiations with China and would take a less aggressive stance. He also said that the current 145% tariffs on Chinese imports are “very high and it won’t be that high” once the negotiations start.
The President, on Wednesday, once assured that the Federal Reserve wouldn’t lose its autonomy as he has no plans of firing the central bank chief Jerome Powell.
Wall Street went on a rally after Trump and Bessent’s comments, with stocks that have higher exposure to China that have been bleeding lately, scoring big. Shares of Apple Inc. (AAPL) gained 2.4%, while NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) added 3.9%. Apple has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Shares of Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) jumped 5.4% after CEO Elon Musk said that he would be significantly cutting down his work with the Trump administration and devote more time to his company.
Investors also shifted focus to the earnings season, which is picking up pace. Shares of The Boeing Company (BA) popped 6.1% after the company reported first-quarter 2025 adjusted loss of $0.49 per share in the first quarter of 2025, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $1.54 per share.
Economic Data
The Commerce Department's Census Bureau said on Wednesday that sales of new U.S. single-family homes rose 7.4% month over month in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 724,000 units. Year over year, new home sales increased 6% in March.
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The Boeing Company (BA): Free Stock Analysis Report Apple Inc. (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA): Free Stock Analysis Report Tesla, Inc. (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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