US equity indexes showed a mixed performance Wednesday afternoon, with gains in big tech lifting the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 as President Donald Trump’s Middle East tour continues with a number of corporate deals being signed.
The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.6% to 19,118.3, and the S&P 500 rose 0.1% to 5,889.5. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2% to 42,067.9. Technology, consumer discretionary, and communication services were sole gainers intraday. Healthcare and utilities led the decliners.
Trump continued his tour of the Middle East while announcing deals for US firms. Qatar agreed to buy 160 Boeing (BA) jets for over $200 billion, a record order in the aircraft manufacturer’s history, Trump said Wednesday during a signing ceremony in Doha. Boeing’s shares rose 1.5% intraday, among the leaders on the Dow.
Meanwhile, Nvidia (NVDA) jumped 4.1% intraday, the top gainer on the Dow, as the tech bellwether unveiled a partnership with Humain, an artificial intelligence company backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Alphabet’s (GOOG, GOOGL) Google and AMD (AMD) also disclosed separate partnerships with the Saudi company.
Shares of AMD, which also unveiled a $6 billion share repurchase program Wednesday, jumped 5.4% intraday, among the strongest performers on the Nasdaq and the S&P 500. Alphabet’s shares were up 4% intraday, among the biggest movers on the Nasdaq.
Tesla’s (TSLA) board formed a special committee to review Elon Musk’s compensation and explore ways to reward him if his contested $56 billion pay package fails to be reinstated, the Financial Times reported Wednesday.
Separately, Tesla intends to ship components to the US from China for Cybercab and Semi trucks by the end of May, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
Tesla’s shares advanced 3.8% intraday, among the leaders on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.
Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said Wednesday at the New York Fed’s Annual Conference of Second District Directors and Advisors that monetary policy is in a good position to deal with the possible inflation impacts of the Trump Administration’s tariff plans.
“If the increases in tariffs announced so far are sustained, they are likely to interrupt progress on disinflation and generate at least a temporary rise in inflation,” Jefferson said. “Whether tariffs create persistent upward pressure on inflation will depend on how trade policy is implemented, the pass-through to consumer prices, the reaction of supply chains, and the performance of the economy.”
Most US Treasury yields advanced intraday, with the 10-year up 2.7 basis points to 4.53% and the two-year rate higher by 3.8 basis points to 4.06%.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures slipped 0.4% to $63.44 a barrel.
Gold futures slumped 1.8% to $3,189.02 per ounce.
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