Tech Stocks Edge Up, AMD Rallies 5%, 30-Year Yields Eye Danger Zone: What's Driving Markets Wednesday?

U.S. tech stocks extended their weekly rally into Wednesday's session, lifted by renewed investor appetite for risk following a breakthrough in early-week U.S.-China trade negotiations. This reignited hopes for a more stable global trade outlook.

The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.5% by midday in New York, reaching levels last seen in late February. Heavyweight chipmakers led the rally, as Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) surged 4% and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) jumped 5%.

Traders welcomed mounting expectations of large-scale investments from Gulf nations into U.S. tech and semiconductor sectors, as President Donald Trump secured new economic agreements with Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia and Syria.

While the Nasdaq marched higher, the S&P 500 stalled and both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Russell 2000 slipped slightly, indicating a more selective rally focused on high-growth sectors.

Clean energy and solar stocks outperformed again, building on strong Tuesday gains. Investors cheered a less-severe-than-expected revision to clean energy tax credits in the latest Republican tax proposal.

The commodity space told a different story, with gold prices dropping nearly 2%, breaking below the $3,200 per ounce mark for the first time in over a month.

The yellow metal is now tracking its worst weekly performance since November 2024, with two trading sessions still left this week.

Investors appear to be rotating out of safe-haven assets, as appetite for equities and riskier plays returns on global trade optimism.

Rising Treasury yields also weighed on broader market sentiment. The yield on the 2-year Treasury note broke above 4%, hitting its highest level in more than two months. Meanwhile, the 30-year bond yield rose 5 basis points to 4.97%, drawing closer to the psychologically important 5% mark—a level often associated with tightening financial conditions and pressure on long-duration assets.

Wednesday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) flattened at $586.91.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) eased 0.3% to $420.45.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series (NASDAQ:QQQ) rose 0.4% to $517.40.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) inched 0.6% lower to $207.35.
• The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLY) outperformed, up 0.5%; the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLV) lagged, down 1.8%.

Wednesday’s Stock Movers

• Israeli retail broker Etoro Group Ltd (NASDAQ:ETOR) made his debut on the Nasdaq 100 index. Shares were up 26%.
• Super Micro Computer Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI) rallied for a second straight session, jumping 18% to $45.99 on Monday after a 16% gain the previous day.
• Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) advanced 1.9% after securing a major deal with Qatar Airways, which agreed to purchase up to 210 Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 777X aircraft in a transaction valued at $96 billion.
• Exelixis Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) soared 20% after the biotech firm posted first-quarter earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street estimates.
• Stocks slated to report earnings after the close include Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO), Copart Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) and Steris plc (NYSE:STE).

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