U.S. stocks powered higher on Wednesday in a pre-Thanksgiving rally, with the S&P 500 closing up 0.69% at a fresh two-week high, the Dow Jones Industrials adding 0.67%, and the Nasdaq 100 climbing 0.87%. After-hours futures pointed even higher, with December E-mini S&P up 0.70% and Nasdaq futures up 0.89%.
Semiconductor stocks were the undisputed heroes of the day. Marvell Technology surged more than 5%, ASML jumped over 4%, while AMD, Broadcom, Applied Materials, and ON Semiconductor all gained more than 3%. Micron, Intel, Lam Research, and Texas Instruments rounded out a blockbuster session for chips that lifted the entire tech sector and the broader market.
Investor optimism soared as the probability of a December Fed rate cut skyrocketed from just 30% a week ago to 80% heading into the December 9-10 FOMC meeting. Falling bond yields, dovish Fed commentary, and softer economic data fueled the fire.
Key economic highlights that cheered markets:
- Weekly jobless claims unexpectedly dropped 6,000 to 216,000 — a 7-month low and better than the expected rise to 225,000
- September capital goods orders (ex-defense & aircraft) rose a stronger-than-expected +0.9% m/m
- Q3 corporate earnings continued to crush estimates — 83% of S&P 500 companies beat forecasts with overall earnings growth of +14.6% y/y (double the +7.2% expected)
Top Performers on Wednesday
- Urban Outfitters (URBN) ↑ +12% — smashed Q3 sales estimates
- Robinhood Markets (HOOD) ↑ +10% — acquired majority stake in LedgerX for prediction markets push
- Oscar Health (OSCR) ↑ +8% — Piper Sandler upgrade to Overweight
- Dell Technologies (DELL) ↑ +5% — raised 2026 revenue guidance
- Boeing (BA) ↑ +2% — landed $2.47B Air Force contract + $7.85B order from China Airlines
Notable Laggards
- Ambarella (AMBA) ↓ 19% — weak Q4 gross margin outlook
- Nutanix (NTNX) ↓ 17% — cut full-year revenue guidance
- Zscaler (ZS) ↓ 12% — in-line guidance disappointed growth chasers
- Deere & Co (DE) ↓ 5% — slashed 2026 profit forecast sharply
Global markets were mostly higher: Europe’s Euro Stoxx 50 rallied 1.47% to a one-week high, Japan’s Nikkei jumped 1.85%, while China’s Shanghai Composite dipped 0.15%.
Treasury yields edged lower, with the 10-year T-note yield dipping to 3.994% despite a slightly soft 7-year note auction.
