S&P500, Nasdaq Gain Over Tech Stock Optimism As Nvidia Hits Record Highs, Dow Slips — FRVO, F, SLS, CSCO In Focus

• The S&P500 hit record highs, the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 1.4%, while the Dow Jones inched 0.2% lower. 
• Technology stocks led broader market gains with Nvidia hitting record highs.  
• Wholesale prices soared in April to the highest in four years.

The S&P500 and Nasdaq ended higher on Wednesday, while the Dow Jones slipped as investors assessed red-hot inflation data and looked for cues from U.S. President Donald Trump’s China visit. 

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq gained 0.6% and 1.2%, respectively, and reached new highs. The Dow fell 0.1%. 

Among ETFs tracking benchmark indexes, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) ended Wednesday around 1% higher, while the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) was flat. 

Meanwhile, retail sentiment on Stocktwits for SPY, QQQ, and DIA was all in the ‘bullish’ territory.

US Market Drivers

Technology stocks were the outliers from the rest of the market as inflation fears, spurred by higher wholesale producer prices in the U.S., weighed on other sectors such as retail and banking. NVIDIA (NVDA) hit record highs, and Micron Technology (MU) gained more than 3%. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) advanced 2%. 

Two inflation reports this week showed increasing price pressures on the retail and wholesale markets, leading to mixed signals on future monetary policy. 

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Kevin Warsh as the 17th chair of the Federal Reserve, succeeding Jerome Powell. Warsh has been advocating for lower rates, but rising inflation signals have led the market to believe otherwise. 

The producer price index rose 6% from a year ago, topping all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The monthly advance was also the sharpest since 2022. A core measure increased 5.2% from April 2025 — the most in more than three years.

“Wednesday’s PPI was strikingly elevated as producers are feeling the ripple effects of $100 per barrel oil,” said Clark Bellin at Bellwether Wealth in an interview with Bloomberg. “The Federal Reserve has an inflation problem on its hands.”

"Near-term inflationary pressure will persist regardless of whether the Strait of Hormuz is reopened, but in the event that sea traffic from the Persian Gulf fails to resume by the summer, the market’s operating assumption is that the inflation outlook will be materially higher," wrote BMO Capital Markets strategist Ian Lyngen in a note, which was accessed by Barron’s.

Trending Stocks To Watch 

Fervo Energy (FRVO): The Houston, Texas-based geothermal energy firm raised $1.89 billion through an upsized offering, issuing 70 million shares of its common stock.

ARM Holdings (ARM): UK-based ARM Holdings (ARM) and its parent company SoftBank Group (SFTBY) made a last-minute attempt to acquire AI chipmaker Cerebras Systems ahead of its IPO, which Cerebras rejected. 

Ford (F): Shares of Ford Motor crossed the 100-day moving average (DMA) for the first time in two months and was among the top trending stocks on Stocktwits. 

Cisco (CSCO): Cisco, in its quarterly earnings report, which was released after hours, announced job cuts that will affect 4,000 of its employees.

Sellas Life Sciences (SLS): Sellas shares were on track to record their best week in over four months ahead of its upcoming leukemia trial data. 

Broader Market Trends 

Crude oil prices dipped on Wednesday as fears of higher U.S. interest rates dampened the global demand outlook. Brent crude settled near $104.85 per barrel. Despite the daily decline, the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned that global oil supply could remain below demand for the remainder of 2026 due to ongoing disruptions in the Middle East and restrictions on tanker movement through the Strait of Hormuz. 

The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond climbed to 5.05%, its highest level since 2007, following a soft auction and hotter-than-expected inflation data. Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, fell as investors processed the reality that inflation—currently at a three-year high of 3.8%—is proving difficult for the Fed to tame. 

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