FX.co ★ US Equities Rebound, Dow Rises to Record

US equity indices pared earlier losses on Wednesday as investors weighed the likelihood of a Federal Reserve rate hike this year and assessed how much upside remains in the AI trade. The S&P 500 rose 0.4%, while the Dow advanced 250 points to a fresh record high. Fed Chairman Warsh signaled that inflation risks are easing, and ISM Manufacturing prices dropped far more than expected in June, reducing the urgency for a hawkish response from the US central bank.

The hyperscalers within the Magnificent 7 extended their rebound after having lagged AI infrastructure names since mid-May, with Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet each gaining more than 2%. Meta jumped 11% after unveiling plans to build a cloud business to commercialize its excess AI computing capacity. Even so, the Nasdaq 100 finished the session 1% lower.

Semiconductor stocks declined after leading the global equity rally and fueling the AI-driven surge, amid persistent warnings that the sector is overextended. Micron and SanDisk each fell more than 8%.