Wall Street staged a partial rebound on Thursday, with the S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite, and Dow Jones Industrial Average all trading higher as investors rotated back into technology and semiconductor names. The bounce followed a sharp sell-off on Wednesday that was driven by renewed concerns over AI infrastructure spending and geopolitical risks.
According to delayed LSEG data, the Dow rose 0.68% to 50,258.33, the Nasdaq added 0.61% to 25,323.80, and the S&P 500 gained 0.51% to 7,304.00. The recovery was led by chip stocks, with Intel surging 10%, Nvidia climbing 1.3%, and Micron Technology adding 2.4%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumped 4.5%, while the S&P 500 technology sector advanced 1.4%.
However, the tech rebound was uneven. Oracle shares plunged 12.5% after the company projected fiscal 2027 capital spending of as much as $95 billion, far exceeding Wall Street estimates. The software giant also announced plans to raise nearly $40 billion through debt and equity next year. The S&P 500 software index fell 2.2% on the news.
Geopolitical tensions remained a key focus after President Donald Trump warned that the U.S. would strike Iran “very hard tonight” and move to seize control of Iran’s oil and gas infrastructure. The comments kept investors on edge about potential energy disruption and its inflationary impact. Phil Blancato, chief market strategist at Osaic Wealth, called the warning “a pretty worrisome thought for the market,” but noted stocks could be “grossly oversold” after the recent pullback.
Economic data added to the uncertainty. The Labor Department reported that the Producer Price Index for final demand surged 1.1% in May, well above the 0.7% economists had forecast. On a year-over-year basis, the PPI rose 6.5%, the largest increase since November 2022. Energy prices jumped 10.7%, with gasoline soaring 23.4%. The Consumer Price Index report released Wednesday showed prices rose 0.5% in May and 4.2% from a year ago, the biggest annual gain since April 2023. Core CPI, excluding food and energy, increased 0.2% month-over-month and 2.9% year-over-year, remaining above the Federal Reserve’s target.
Labor market data provided some relief, preventing a full-blown growth scare. Initial jobless claims rose by 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 229,000 for the week ended June 6, topping the 219,000 expected. Continuing claims increased by 24,000 to 1.795 million for the week ended May 30. Meanwhile, Brent crude edged down 0.21% to $92.90, gold fell 0.77% to $4,076.70, and the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield slipped slightly to 4.536%.
Market participants are now looking ahead to the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting next week. Despite broad expectations that the Fed will hold rates steady, investors are pricing in at least one 25-basis-point rate hike before year-end. Also in focus is SpaceX’s market debut on Friday, which will test the resilience of a stock market that has hit multiple records in 2024.
