The S&P 500 rose to another record high on Wednesday. Investors looked past fears of new tariffs from President Trump. The index climbed 0.24% to settle at 6,144.15.
This marked its second record close in a row. It also touched a fresh all-time high during the trading session. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.07% to close at 20,056.25.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 71.25 points, or 0.16%, to end at 44,627.59. Major tech companies led the broader technology sector higher. One company surged nearly 10% after posting better-than-expected quarterly results.
Investors remain cautiously optimistic despite Trump’s announcement on Tuesday. He threatened potential duties on imported autos, chips, and pharmaceuticals. These could be implemented as soon as April 2.
I think there’s a lot of noise tied to these tariffs and other immediate concerns,” said Jim Elios, founder and chief investment officer at Elios Financial Group. In the long term, I’m still really bullish about how this can become a pro-business environment.”
The Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting minutes also weighed on investors. They showed central bank officials want to see more progress on inflation before cutting interest rates further.
Officials are also concerned about the potential economic effects of Trump’s tariffs.
S&P 500 hits record high again
Palantir stock fell as much as 12.9% on Wednesday, its largest loss since May 2024.
This followed reports that the Trump Administration and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are ordering Pentagon officials to cut 8% from the defense budget each year for the next five years. Palantir also filed notice that CEO Alex Karp adopted a trading plan allowing him to sell up to 9.975 million shares through mid-September 2025. Despite the drop, Palantir remains 48% higher in 2025 after soaring 340% in 2024.
Morgan Stanley raised its bull case price target for Walmart shares to $153 ahead of the retailer’s earnings report on Thursday. The firm cited Walmart’s alternative businesses like memberships and third-party e-commerce as key growth drivers. Analyst Simeon Gutman expects these segments to drive about 5% revenue growth and 12% earnings growth over the next three years.
Analysts are optimistic about Nike’s new partnership with Kim Kardashian’s Skims brand. Nike announced an activewear line with the intimate apparel maker called NikeSKIMS, launching this spring. “Athletic brands have a mixed track record with celebrity partnerships, but NikeSKIMS seems like a big win for Nike,” said Cristina Fernández, senior research analyst at Telsey Advisory Group.
The launch is a positive step in Nike’s turnaround, though the company still has work to do with inventories and footwear. Microsoft unveiled its first quantum computing chip, Majorana 1, after nearly two decades of research. The company suggested quantum computers able to solve meaningful industrial problems are “years, not decades” away.
Shares of quantum computing companies surged on the news, with one seeing a 42% increase. Apple announced its latest iPhone model, the iPhone 16e, retailing for $599 and going on sale later this month. The model is powerful enough to run artificial intelligence technology.
Apple shares traded around flat on Wednesday.
