Stocks Rise, Oil Falls On Iran Ceasefire Hopes, ARM Surges 15% : What's Moving Markets Wednesday?

U.S. stocks extended their mid-week rebound on Wednesday, with all three major indexes advancing as crude oil prices retreated sharply on reports that Washington is pursuing diplomatic talks with Tehran — even as Iranian officials formally denied any progress.

Reports that the U.S. had delivered Iran a 15-point proposal and was seeking a one-month ceasefire to facilitate talks proved sufficient to spark a broad-based relief bid across equities.

WTI crude declined 3% to $89.62 per barrel, recovering slightly from overnight lows near $86.50, while Brent crude fell 3.3% to $101.04.

The S&P 500 gained 0.7% to 6,599, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 344 points, or 0.8%, to 46,468. 

The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 gained nearly 200 points to 24,200, up 0.8%. The Russell 2000 outperformed, rising 1.2%, eyeing its third straight session of gains.

Across U.S. equity markets by midday Wednesday, gains were broad-based. Ten of eleven S&P 500 sectors advanced, with Financials the lone exception, slipping marginally into the red.

The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note retreated to 4.32%, shedding around 5 basis points from Tuesday’s close, as bond markets recalibrated their inflation assumptions in response to the pullback in oil.

The 2-year yield eased to 3.88%, while the 30-year note slipped to 4.89%.

Wednesday’s Performance In Major US Indices

According to the Benzinga Pro platform:

• The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) gained 0.7%,
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (NYSE:DIA) rose 0.8%,
• The Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) climbed 0.8%,
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) rallied 1.2%.

Gold Miners Glitter, Chip Stocks Surge As Iran Optimism Reshapes Wednesday’s Winners

The Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLB) led all S&P 500 sectors with a gain of 1.5%, buoyed by broad strength in metals as gold and silver surged on lower Treasury yields and weakening oil prices.

The only sector in the red was the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLF), which edged 0.1% lower. 

Among industry ETFs, the VanEck Gold Miners (NYSE:GDX) surged 3.8% as bullion’s advance lifted producers across the board.

The session’s defining technology story was Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ:ARM), which surged by 15% after the chip architecture company announced plans to sell its own semiconductors — a significant expansion of its core licensing model.

Within Magnificent Seven stocks, Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) added 2.6%, Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) gained 2.1%, and Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) rose 1.9%.

Wednesday’s Russell 1000 Top Gainers

Wednesday’s Russell 1000 Top Losers

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