Wall Street’s rally stretched into a second session Tuesday, fueled by improving investor sentiment after an early-week breakthrough in U.S.-China trade talks, easing inflation data and fresh geopolitical headlines involving major investment pledges from the Middle East.
The Consumer Price Index showed signs of cooling in April, as both headline and core readings eased or met expectations, easing concerns that Trump’s proposed trade tariffs would trigger a surge in inflation.
The S&P 500 advanced 0.7%, adding to Monday’s 3.3% surge, and reached its highest level since March 3.
Technology stocks outperformed again, with the Nasdaq 100 jumping 1.8%, driven by a standout 5.3% rally in NVIDIA Corp. NVDA.
The chipmaker giant surged after reports that the United Arab Emirates may receive approval to purchase over a million of its advanced AI processors, while Saudi Arabia pledged up to $600 billion in future U.S. investments, with a focus on technology and infrastructure.
Alphabet Inc.’s GOOGGOOGL Google, Oracle Corp. ORCL, Salesforce Inc. CRM, Uber Technologies Inc. UBER and DataVolt have committed to invest a combined $80 billion in technology initiatives across both the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, according to a White House press release.
The news came during President Donald Trump‘s diplomatic visit to the Middle East, where he also reiterated confidence in the Republican tax bill, saying, “We’re in good shape to pass the tax bill,” and calling it “the biggest tax cut in history.”
Crude oil prices spiked nearly 3% to surpass $63 a barrel after Trump warned that Iranian oil exports could be driven to zero due to the country’s threat to regional stability.
The rally marks a 10% surge over the past four sessions, putting crude on track for its best four-day run since 2022.
The energy sector rallied in tandem, with U.S. energy stocks rising 1.5% on the day.
U.S. Treasury yields extended gains amid improving risk appetite. The 10-year yield jumped to 4.50%, while the 30-year yield climbed to 4.95%, signaling stronger expectations for economic resilience and possibly tighter monetary conditions down the line.
The U.S. dollar index slipped 0.5% after Monday’s strong gains, reflecting a mild pullback as traders repositioned. Gold rose 0.6% to recover some ground amid geopolitical headlines.
Bitcoin BTC/USD rose 1.4% to $104,000, continuing its uptrend and reclaiming momentum after days of sideways action.
| Major Indices | Price | 1-day chg % |
| Nasdaq 100 | 21,234.91 | +1.8% |
| S&P 500 | 5,895.69 | +0.9% |
| Russell 2000 | 2,105.25 | +0.6% |
| Dow Jones | 42,234.10 | -0.4% |
According to Benzinga Pro data:
- The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY rose 0.84% to $587.87.
- The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA eased down 0.4% to $422.27.
- The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series QQQ jumped 1.74% to $516.67.
- The iShares Russell 2000 ETF IWM rose 0.45% to $208.81.
- The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund XLK outperformed, up 2.2%; the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund XLV lagged, down 2.4%.
- Clean energy and solar stocks rallied after House Republicans delivered a better-than-feared tax proposal for renewable energy incentives. The Invesco Solar ETF TAN soared 5.9%, with First Solar Inc. FSLR, leading gains, up 21%.
- Semiconductors continued to extend gains, with the iShares Semiconductor ETF SOXX, now up more than 10% over the past two sessions.
- UnitedHealth Group Inc. UNH tumbled 16% on Tuesday after the company withdrew its full-year guidance, citing a sharp rise in medical expenses. The health insurer also announced that CEO Andrew Witty has stepped down, citing “personal reasons.”
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