Wall Street’s fear gauge, the VIX, hit a one-month low. Earlier this month, Trump’s revival of the trade war had pushed the volatility index to its highest level since the implementation of his ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs in April.
At 10:28 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 238.57 points, or 0.51%, to 47,445.69, the S&P 500 gained 58.69 points, or 0.86%, to 6,850.38 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 324.40 points, or 1.40%, to 23,529.27.
The interest-sensitive Russell 2000 rose 1.2%.
US-listed shares of Chinese companies gained. Alibaba Group Holding, JD.com and PDD Holdings each rose more than 2%. Baidu added 5%.
Rare earth mining companies fell, with MP Materials, USA Rare Earth and NYSE-listed shares of Trilogy Metals down 5.6%, 11% and 15% respectively.
Keurig Dr Pepper rose 6.2% after raising its annual sales forecast and raising about $7 billion to finance the purchase of Dutch coffee giant JDE Peet’s.
The S&P consumer discretionary index added 1.2%. Shares of Lululemon rose 2.8% after the company announced a partnership with NFL to launch a clothing collection.
Technology stocks rose 1.4%, while Intel and Super Micro Computer both rose more than 4%.
The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index also hit a new record high.
US-listed shares of Argentine companies rose after President Javier Milei’s election victory.
YPF gained 35%, while Grupo Supervielle and Banco Macro rose more than 40% each. Banco BBVA Argentina rose 45% and Grupo Financiero Galicia advanced 42%.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments on Wednesday will be carefully scrutinized for indications of a cut in December amid a government shutdown that has blocked economic releases.
“The lack of official inflation data will support the rally in the near term as monetary policy could be operating with an increasingly blind spot heading into the new year,” said Jordan Rizzuto, CIO at GammaRoad Capital Partners.
BLOCKBUSTER REVENUES
As the busiest week of this earnings season kicks off, more than 170 companies are expected to report and all eyes will be on Big Tech.
The gains of ‘Magnificent Seven’ heavyweights Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, Amazon and Meta will act as a litmus test for Wall Street’s high valuations, the staying power of the rally and the long-term viability of outsized bets on artificial intelligence.
The seven megacaps rose between 1.4% and 2.4%.
Together they make up nearly 35% of the benchmark S&P 500, which is now expected to post third-quarter earnings growth of 10.4% annually, up from a previous estimate of 8.8%, according to LSEG data.
“If the economy softens sufficiently, this could ease concerns about inflationary pressures, but it could also introduce pressure on earnings growth, which will need to catch up with valuation expansion to sustain this rally into 2026,” Rizzuto said.
Among other stocks, shares of Janus Henderson rose 18.7% after confirmation of a takeover proposal from Trian and General Catalyst.
Advancing issues outpaced declining issues by a 1.99-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.54-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 28 new 52-week highs and two new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite posted 102 new highs and 29 new lows. (
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