4:16pm: Nasdaq, S&P 500 back-to-back highs
Wall Street ended the day on a high note, with the major indexes marching to fresh record territory.
The Dow Jones climbed 464 points, or 1%, to 44,922, bringing it closer than ever to its all-time high last touched in December. The S&P 500 added 21 points, or 0.3%, to 6,467, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq nudged up 31 points, or 0.1%, to 21,713.
Small caps led the charge, with the Russell 2000 surging 45 points, or 2%, to 2,328.
Investors are increasingly confident the Federal Reserve will deliver a rate cut at its next meeting, following the latest inflation readings. By Wednesday afternoon, traders had fully priced in a September cut, according to the CME Group, with chatter also building around the possibility of a "jumbo" 50-basis-point move. All eyes now turn to the release of the Producer Price Index on Thursday and retail sales data on Friday.
In individual stock action, Apple shares shot higher after Bloomberg reported the tech giant is plotting a major AI comeback. The company’s ambitious plans reportedly include household robots, a lifelike Siri, a smart speaker with a display, and home-security cameras.
Media stocks were also in the spotlight: Paramount Skydance (PSKY) surged as much as 60% on Wednesday as traders jumped on the newly merged entertainment powerhouse, less than a week after the deal closed.
With sentiment riding high and traders looking ahead to key economic data, the market closed firmly in positive territory, keeping investors buzzing about what’s next for Wall Street.
3:45pm: Proactive news headlines
- EDM Resources Inc (TSX-V:EDM, OTC:SWNLF) completed the sale of a silver royalty to Silver Crown Royalties, receiving C$250,000 and 60,000 Silver Crown units.
- C3 Metals Inc (TSX-V:CCCM, OTC:CARCF) has started diamond drilling at its Bellas Gate copper-gold project in Jamaica, testing 14 largely undrilled porphyry targets along an 18-kilometre strike.
- Standard Uranium Ltd (TSX-V:STND, OTCQB:STTDF) plans to begin a diamond drill program at its Davidson River uranium project in northern Saskatchewan following completion of its first Exosphere Multiphysics survey.
- Nano One Materials Corp (TSX:NANO, OTC:NNOMF) ended Q2 with C$23.2 million in net assets and strengthened U.S. growth prospects after being named a top LFP innovator and joining a U.S. battery supply chain accelerator.
- Argentina Lithium & Energy Corp (TSX-V:LIT, OTCQX:LILIF) amended its Amelia lithium project option agreement in Argentina, specifying the value of shares to be issued to the project’s optionor.
2:50pm: Stocks on the move
- HudBay Minerals Inc. (TSX:HBM) shares rose after securing a $600 million strategic investment from Mitsubishi for a 30% joint venture stake in its Copper World project in Arizona.
- Cava (NYSE:CAVA) shares fell after the company reported Q2 same-store sales growth of 2.1%, missing estimates of 6.3%, along with weaker-than-expected revenue.
- CoreWeave (NASDAQ:CRWV) stock dropped as the AI cloud-computing firm posted a Q2 net loss of $290.5 million, wider than analysts’ expectations of a $190 million loss.
- Caledonian Holdings shares gained 13% after completing a share swap to boost its stake in AlbaCo Limited, acquiring 250,000 shares from an executive director.
2:15pm: US national debt tops record
The US federal government’s gross national debt has surpassed a record $37 trillion, the Treasury Department said, reaching the milestone years earlier than the Congressional Budget Office had projected in 2020.
The faster pace reflects pandemic-related borrowing and a slowdown in economic activity, as well as recent spending tied to federal tax legislation expected to add $4.1 trillion to the debt over the next decade.
1:37pm: Trump mulls Fed chair change
Stocks were mixed in early afternoon trading, with the Dow Jones rising 0.6% while the S&P 500 was flat and the Nasdaq edged slightly lower, as investors weighed comments from Federal Reserve officials.
Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said he does not like “precommitting” on interest rates and voiced unease about viewing tariff-related price pressures as a one-off. He described the services inflation in the latest consumer price index report as “bad” and said it would be more worrying if similar readings emerged where components unrelated to tariffs were also rising.
Separately, Donald Trump said he would name a new Fed chairman early in his next term if elected president, adding he has narrowed the shortlist to three or four candidates.
12:45pm: Bullish debut
Shares of Bullish, a cryptocurrency exchange backed by billionaire Peter Thiel, are expected to open between $60 and $65 when they debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, well above the company’s $37 initial public offering (IPO) price.
Bullish raised $1.1 billion in the IPO by selling 30 million shares, exceeding its previously marketed price range of $32 to $33 per share, according to Bloomberg.
Investor demand was strong, with the offering reportedly oversubscribed 20 times.
The deal values the company at roughly $5.4 billion.
Bullish, which also owns crypto news platform CoinDesk, will trade under the ticker symbol BLSH.
11:41am: Oil slips amid surplus
Global stock markets extended gains this week, with several indices hitting record highs, reflecting a so-called “goldilocks” scenario, Axel Rudolph, Senior Technical Analyst at IG, noted.
“The current ‘Goldilocks’ scenario of moderate growth and stable inflation - allowing for market-friendly monetary policy - propels global stock markets higher,” Rudolph said Wednesday.
Meanwhile, oil prices slid to a two-month low, with WTI crude falling to $62.54 a barrel. The drop follows forecasts from the IEA and US government predicting a growing oil surplus and record-high inventories by mid-2026, as US production peaks this year before tapering. Traders are also monitoring the upcoming US-Russia summit on Ukraine, where Kyiv’s stance could affect the future of US sanctions on Russian oil.
10:37am: CoreWeave tumbles
CoreWeave (NASDAQ:CRWV) shares tumbled in early trading as the AI cloud-computing startup posted a wider-than-expected loss for the second quarter.
It reported a net loss of $290.5 million, above Street estimates of a loss of $190 million.
A loss per share of $0.60 missed estimates of a loss per share of $0.52.
Revenue surged to $1.21 billion from approximately $395,000 in the year-ago quarter, above Wall Street estimates of $1.08 billion.
The company’s revenue backlog increased to $30.1 billion, up 4% quarter-over-quarter.
Shares of CoreWeave fell 11.4% to about $132 in early trade on Wednesday.
9:48am: Bessent hints at 50 bps September cut
Wall Street opened firmly higher on Wednesday as fresh hopes for a hefty September interest rate cut sent major indexes climbing. The Dow Jones jumped 270 points, or 0.6%, to 44,728, while the S&P 500 rose 0.4% to 6,472 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.5% to reach 21,783.
Small caps were the standout, with the Russell 2000 surging 3% at 2,283.
The upbeat tone followed growing market conviction that the Federal Reserve will slash rates next month, with CME Group data showing traders now pricing in almost a 100% chance of a September cut.
Those bets were reinforced by recent signs of labor market softening and by comments from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who said rates “should be 150 to 175 basis points lower” and hinted the Fed could kick off easing with a half-point move.
Bessent also weighed in on US-China relations, saying Washington could discuss Nvidia chip use with Beijing, that revenue from such arrangements should be used to pay down debt, and that “China will eat the tariffs.”
The Treasury Secretary added he would not support halting the monthly jobs report and suggested the search for Fed leadership could include private-sector candidates.
8:30am: Good mood prevails
Stocks are waking up in a good mood this morning.
US futures are pointing higher on Wednesday as traders grow more convinced the Federal Reserve will pull the trigger on an interest rate cut at its next meeting, thanks to the latest inflation numbers giving the central bank some breathing room. Dow futures are up about 0.3%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 are both tacking on 0.2%.
In the corporate spotlight, Circle is taking a hit in premarket after announcing plans to sell 10 million shares after its first earnings report since a blockbuster public debut. Cava is also sliding after trimming its first annual sales growth target. Meanwhile, CoreWeave beat revenue estimates on the back of AI demand, but that’s not stopping its stock from pointing lower before the open.
On the sentiment side, the VIX, Wall Street’s fear gauge, has dropped to 14.49, its lowest level since late December, suggesting nerves are easing as earnings season rolls on.
Today’s economic calendar is light, with just MBA mortgage applications for the week ending August 8 on tap. In earnings, Cisco is reporting after the close.
Over in IPO land, cryptocurrency trading platform Bullish is set to make its market debut after pricing shares at $37.
On the geopolitical front, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is in Germany ahead of a high-stakes summit later this week between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump.