Wednesday's trading session delivered exactly what investors have come to expect lately: another record high for the S&P 500, powered by tech strength and peppered with some interesting leadership changes in the mega-cap space.
By midday in New York, the benchmark index was hovering near 6,963.30, up 0.3% and eyeing its fourth consecutive positive session. That three-day rally just keeps rolling. The Nasdaq 100 put in the strongest performance among major indices, climbing 0.7%, while both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Russell 2000 gave back some ground after three straight days of gains, slipping 0.2% and 0.4% respectively.
Intel Steals the Spotlight
Technology was clearly the sector driving action, and Intel Corp. (INTC) emerged as the star performer among mega-cap names. The chipmaker soared nearly 7% after investors liked what they saw at CES, where Intel showcased its new product lineup including a gaming-focused processor and platform. It's the kind of enthusiasm Intel hasn't seen in a while, and the market responded accordingly.
The Alphabet-Apple Shuffle
Within the Magnificent Seven group of tech giants, an interesting power shift played out. Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) (GOOG) climbed 2.3%, while Apple Inc. (AAPL) traded flat after suffering through five consecutive sessions of losses. That shift was enough to allow Google's parent company to overtake Apple as the world's second-largest company by market value. It's a meaningful psychological milestone, even if these rankings tend to shuffle around over time.
Mixed Signals from the Labor Market
On the macro front, the data painted a somewhat murky picture. ADP figures showed private sector payrolls likely increased by 41,000 in December, which sounds modest because it is. That represented a rebound from a revised 29,000 decline in November, suggesting some stabilization in hiring trends after recent softness. But the numbers still fall short of what you'd expect from a truly healthy labor market. Call it progress, just not the kind that inspires confidence.
Commodities Take a Beating
While equities pushed higher, commodities faced broad-based selling pressure that was hard to ignore. Oil prices slid more than 1% to $56 a barrel after President Donald Trump ordered Venezuelan authorities to sell between 30 million and 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to the U.S. at market prices. That's a significant supply injection that naturally pressures prices.
Precious and industrial metals pulled back sharply after recent rallies, with the moves feeling almost theatrical in their magnitude. Silver sank over 3% to $77 an ounce. Gold slipped nearly 1% to $4,450. Copper dropped 3.1% to $5.87, while palladium plunged almost 7% and platinum fell 5%. Those are not small moves for these markets.
Crypto assets joined the weakness. Bitcoin (BTC) slid 2.6% to $91,000, on pace for its worst session in a month. After the recent rally in digital assets, some profit-taking seems reasonable, even if it's painful in the moment.
Wednesday's Performance Across Major Indices and ETFs
By 12:55 p.m. ET, here's where the major indices stood:
| Major Indices | Price | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| Nasdaq 100 | 25,816.92 | +0.7% |
| S&P 500 | 6,963.30 | +0.3% |
| Dow Jones | 49,341.19 | -0.2% |
| Russell 2000 | 2,572.09 | -0.4% |
Looking at the ETF landscape, the moves broadly reflected the underlying index performance. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) inched up 0.2% to $637.24. The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) slipped 0.4% to $492.69. The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series (NASDAQ:QQQ) advanced 0.6% to $627.24. The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) fell 0.4% to $255.13.
Among sector funds, the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLV) outperformed with a 0.9% gain, while the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLU) lagged badly, down 1.7%.
Russell 1000's Biggest Movers
Beyond the headline indices, individual stock performance told its own story. Among Russell 1000 components, the top gainers included Primo Brands Corp. (NYSE:PRMB), up 7.48%, Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS), up 7.02%, and Intel, which we've already discussed. Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ:AUR) climbed 6.25%, and Datadog, Inc. (NASDAQ:DDOG) rose 5.96%.
On the flip side, the losers list was led by Skyworks Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWKS), which tumbled 11.83%. Fermi Inc. (NASDAQ:FERM) dropped 11.42%, AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) fell 11.35%, Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ:WDC) declined 9.47%, and First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) slid 9.42%.
It's the kind of session where the surface looks calm with modest gains in the major indices, but underneath there's plenty of volatility and rotation happening across individual names and asset classes. Markets keep grinding higher, even as the details get more complicated.