Tech stocks ripped higher on Wednesday despite a sharply hotter-than-expected April Producer Price Index reading that rekindled inflation anxieties and rate-hike fears, as strength in semiconductors fueled investor sentiment.
Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) rallied for the sixth straight session to above $226 per share, with the company’s market cap soaring above $5.5 trillion ahead of next week’s highly awaited earnings report.
Speaking via Truth Social shortly before landing in Beijing, Trump told followers the trip – joined by Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO Tim Cook and a last-minute addition of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang – was aimed at “fixing the broken deal” with China while also pressing Xi to help “end the Iran problem.”
On the macro front, April wholesale prices jumped 1.4% month-over-month, nearly triple the 0.5% consensus, and headline PPI surged to 6% year-over-year against expectations of 4.8%, the hottest print in over three years.
Core PPI rose 1.0% versus 0.4% estimates, underscoring that Iran-war-driven energy inflation is now bleeding into broader pipeline pricing.
Rate traders quickly revised Fed policy path, with fed funds futures now pricing a hike more likely than a hold by year end.
Across U.S. equity markets by midday Wednesday, the tape was a classic split – large-cap growth higher, rate-sensitive cyclicals and small caps lower.
The S&P 500 rose 0.5% to 7,437.67 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.4% to 49,571, dragged by 189 points of weakness in its bank and industrial components.
The Nasdaq 100 outperformed with a 0.7% gain to 29,265.56, leaning on a strong semis and clean-energy bid alongside Nvidia’s continued march. The Russell 2000 slipped 0.1% to 2,839.74.
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