Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on August 12, 2025 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Stocks rose Wednesday, adding to their recent momentum as expectations for lower U.S. Federal Reserve rates continue driving the major indexes to all-time highs.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively, reaching fresh record highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 425 points, or 1%.
AMD popped more than 5% to lead gains in tech. Apple also advanced about 1%, along with Oracle.
Those moves followed a record-setting session Tuesday sparked by a tamer-than-expected inflation report that gave investors hope of a Fed rate cut in September. Traders are pricing in a 99% chance of a rate cut at the Federal Reserve’s September meeting, per trading data from the CME’s FedWatch Tool.
Thursday’s producer price index report on wholesale inflation will add another piece of the economic picture. The report comes ahead of the Fed’s Jackson Hole meeting on Aug. 21-23, which could also help shape expectations for the central bank’s next policy move.
Not all investors came away convinced by Tuesday’s strong moves. 3Fourteen Research co-founder Warren Pies said the moves in small-cap names may not be what they seem in this late-cycle environment.
“We’ve had some seasonal buying in the beginning of August, and I think people are starting to jump the gun and misinterpret that as this summer melt-up that every wants to believe in,” Pies said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell.” “I think there is some concerns in my mind about the labor market and the growth story and the market’s kind of glossing over them.”