Wall Street traded modestly higher Wednesday, with large-cap benchmarks attempting a fourth straight day of gains as investors looked ahead to a seasonally strong year-end stretch.
By midday in New York, the S&P 500 was up 0.4% near 6,900, hovering within striking distance of last October’s all-time highs at 6,920.
The Nasdaq 100 also added 0.4%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.3%. Small caps lagged, with the Russell 2000 down about 0.6%.
The session was shaped by the release of stronger-than-expected U.S. growth data. Gross domestic product expanded at a 4.3% annualized pace in the third quarter, beating estimates near 3.3% and marking the fastest growth rate in two years.
That strength prompted traders to scale back expectations for near-term Federal Reserve easing. Markets now price roughly a 15% probability of a 25-basis-point cut in late January, down from 20% a day earlier. Expectations have narrowed to two cuts in 2026, with June and September seen as the most likely windows.
In single stocks, Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) surged nearly 9%, marking its best session since March 2024. Shares jumped after US regulators approved Wegovy in pill form, the first oral GLP-1 treatment for weight management.
Commodities remained a dominant theme. Precious metals extended a historic rally.
Silver jumped more than 2% to break above $70 an ounce, pushing year-to-date gains to roughly 140%, its strongest year since 1979.
Gold advanced 0.7% to $4,475 an ounce, setting another record high. Platinum surged 5.5% for a ninth straight gain reaching 2008 levels and notching a nearly 150% surge this year – the metal’s best year ever.
Palladium also jumped 5.6%, to levels last seen in October 2022, now up 105% year-to-date. Copper rose about 1.1%, continuing its recovery from late July’s sharp selloff.
| Major Indices | Price | 1-day % |
| S&P 500 | 6,907.74 | 0.4% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 25,563.06 | 0.4% |
| Dow Jones | 48,506.86 | 0.3% |
| Russell 2000 | 2,543.97 | -0.5% |
According to Benzinga Pro data:
- The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) rose 0.31% to $631.69.
- The Invesco QQQ Trust Series (NASDAQ:QQQ) advanced 0.32% to $621.21.
- The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSE:DIA) gained 0.15% to $484.20.
- The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) fell 0.49% to $252.34.
- The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLC) outperformed, up 0.5%; the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLRE) lagged, down 0.4%.
Russell 1000’s Top 5 Gainers And Losers On Wednesday
| Stock Name | % Change |
|---|---|
| Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRPT) | +3.19% |
| Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) | +3.19% |
| Marvell Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL) | +3.00% |
| BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN) | +2.82% |
| NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) | +2.46% |
| Stock Name | % Change |
|---|---|
| First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) | -6.10% |
| Fermi Inc. (NYSE:FERM) | -6.02% |
| UiPath Inc. (NYSE:PATH) | -5.54% |
| Bullish (NYSE:BLSH) | -5.28% |
| Coty Inc. (NYSE:COTY) | -5.25% |
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