Wall Street finished Wednesday on a positive note, with all three major indexes climbing after the Federal Reserve released minutes from its May meeting that signaled policymakers remain cautious about further rate hikes — a message investors were more than happy to hear. The S&P 500 added 0.74%, the Dow gained roughly half a percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq led the charge with a 1% advance.
The star of the session was undeniably Nvidia. The chipmaker reported quarterly revenue that smashed analyst estimates, fueled by relentless enterprise and data center demand for its AI-accelerating hardware. Shares surged more than 4%, adding hundreds of billions to Nvidia's already towering market cap and lifting the broader semiconductor sector along with it. AMD and Broadcom both caught meaningful tailwinds from Nvidia's results.
On the losing end, CVS Health was the session's biggest drag after the pharmacy and insurance giant dramatically cut its annual earnings forecast. Management pointed to unexpectedly high medical utilization in its Aetna insurance unit — a problem that has been haunting managed care companies industry-wide. Shares dropped more than 5% on heavy volume.
Meanwhile, the macro backdrop remained constructive. Oil held steady near $78, gold eased slightly, and the VIX slipped back below 19 — a sign that near-term fear is fading even as traders keep one eye on upcoming inflation data due later this week.