Nasdaq 100 Tops Records As Iran Ceasefire Extends, GE Vernova Soars 13%: Stock Market Today

Tech stocks brushed new record highs during midday Wednesday, as a fresh wave of blockbuster corporate earnings propelled mega-cap technology and speculative names higher.

Across U.S. equity markets, gains were broad-based but concentrated in large-cap growth. The S&P 500 rose 0.85% to 7,123, now 25 points shy of its all-time intraday high at 7,148 set last Friday.

At last check, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added over 272 points, or 0.55%, to 49,422. The Nasdaq 100 outperformed with a 1.5% advance to new records at 26,884, on pace for its best session of the week.

Within Magnificent Seven stocks:

• Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) rose 2.8% as investors continued to digest John Ternus stepping in as incoming CEO
• Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) each added more than 1%
• Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) climbed 1.46%
• Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) inched 0.8% higher ahead of its after-the-bell earnings report.

The small-cap Russell 2000 lagged with a more modest 0.5% gain.

WTI crude surged 3.8% to $93.06 a barrel in a counterintuitive move, as the Strait of Hormuz remained blockaded despite the diplomatic thaw and President Trump’s ceasefire extension.

Wednesday’s Performance In Major US Indices

According to the Benzinga Pro platform:

• The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) rose 0.8%.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (NYSE:DIA) gained 0.7%.
• The Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) climbed 1.3%.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) added 0.5%.

AI Heavyweights Power Tech Rallyx

The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLK) led all eleven S&P 500 sectors with a 1.7% advance, pushing its month-to-date gain to 18.3%.

The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) rose 1.0% as crude’s surge kept producers bid, while the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLRE) lagged with a 0.4% decline — the day’s worst-performing sector.

Among industry-level ETFs, the Invesco Solar ETF (NYSE:TAN) jumped 3.3 and the Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF (NYSE:PBW) gained 2.9%, now sitting on a 17% month-to-date advance. On the losing side, the U.S. Global Jets ETF (NYSE:JETS) tumbled 3.0% and the SPDR S&P Insurance ETF (NYSE:KIE) dropped 1.3%.

The headline mover was GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV), which rocketed 12.6% to $1,116 after the power-equipment spinoff issued guidance that highlighted swelling data-center demand. Power-grid peer Constellation Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CEG) rallied 3.9%. 

Corporate earnings delivered a string of upside surprises. 

Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) climbed 5.0% after reporting its best first-quarter commercial delivery count since 2019 and a slower cash burn. Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) surged 6.6% on an EPS beat at $1.96 versus $1.83 expected. AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) fell 1.3% despite topping revenue and earnings estimates, while CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) dropped 1.4% reaching 3-month lows.

Home-products supplier Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS) soared 12.0% after smashing Street’s expectations.

Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) rocketed 10% as Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) rallied to $80,000.

On the downside, the session’s worst performer within the Russell 1000 was Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON), which plunged 15.9% on heavy volume. Travel + Leisure Co. (NYSE:TNL) slid 12.7% and Summit Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:SMMT) fell 10.2%. United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) dropped 6.3% as higher jet fuel prices squeezed carrier sentiment.

Homebuilder NVR, Inc. (NYSE:NVR) declined 6.0%, while aerospace supplier Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM) dropped 5.6%.

Wednesday’s Russell 1000 Top Gainers

Wednesday’s Russell 1000 Top Losers