U.S. stocks soared on Wednesday, following Tuesday’s mixed close. Futures of the major benchmark indices surged as President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire on Iran strikes.
President Trump also said on Tuesday that the United States had won a “total and complete victory” after striking a two-week ceasefire deal with Iran, projecting confidence that the truce could lead to a broader agreement even as major questions remained unresolved.
However, Iran insisted that this does not mark the end of the ongoing conflict. Tehran has directed all military divisions to halt fire, but stressed that this does not conclude the war. "Our fingers are on the trigger; any mistake by the enemy will be met with a full-scale response," Iran's Supreme National Security Council cautioned.
Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.24%, and the two-year bond was at 3.71%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 98.4% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged in its April meeting.
| Index | Performance (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | 2.25% |
| S&P 500 | 2.46% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 3.25% |
| Russell 2000 | 3.59% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, were higher in premarket on Wednesday. The SPY was up 2.57% at $676.17, while the QQQ advanced 3.37% to $608.45.
Stocks In Focus
SoFi Technologies
- SoFi Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:SOFI) jumped 8.38% as it was experiencing significant market activity, following last week’s launch of big business banking to power fiat and crypto banking on a single regulated platform.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that SOFI maintains a weak price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a solid growth score.
Uber Technologies And Amazon
- Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE:UBER) gained 4.15% as it scaled on Amazon.com Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) AWS to help power millions of daily trips and train its AI models.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that UBER maintains a weak trend in the long, short, and medium terms, with a moderate value ranking.
Alibaba Group Holding
- Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE:BABA) advanced 7.58% after it deployed a massive 10,000-chip AI cluster in China, strengthening domestic semiconductor capabilities and accelerating its integrated AI ecosystem strategy.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that BABA maintains a weak price trend in the long, short, and medium terms, with a poor quality score.
Levi Strauss
- Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) surged 10.13% after it reported first-quarter revenue of $1.74 billion, beating analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. It also posted adjusted earnings of 42 cents per share, beating estimates of 37 cents per share.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that LEVI maintains a strong price trend over the long, short, and medium terms, with a good growth score.
Paramount Skydance
- Paramount Skydance Corp. (NASDAQ:PSKY) rose 3.58% after it received a $24 billion equity commitment from Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds and increased authorized Class B shares to 7 billion, allowing the board to declare dividends independently of Class A stock.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that PSKY maintains a weak price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a solid value score.
Cues From Last Session
Consumer discretionary, energy, and information technology stocks posted the largest gains on Tuesday as half of the S&P 500 sectors finished positively. Conversely, consumer staples, consumer discretionary, and materials declined.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Dow Jones | -0.18% | 46.584,46 |
| S&P 500 | 0.076% | 6.616,85 |
| Nasdaq Composite | 0.098% | 22.017,85 |
| Russell 2000 | 0.17% | 2.544,94 |
Insights From Analysts
Professor Jeremy Siegel maintains a "Long-Term Bullish, Near-Term Cautious" outlook for the U.S. economy and stock market.
While he believes the economy remains structurally strong and resilient, he warns that the path forward is likely to be "bumpier until we see a lasting and real break in the geopolitical pressures" despite a temporary two-week truce.
Several factors are complicating the immediate outlook, according to Seigel.
- Labor Strength: The March jobs report showed robust payroll growth and a lower unemployment rate, suggesting the labor market is "too firm to support any near-term case for Fed easing".
- Inflationary Pressures: Rising energy prices due to geopolitical conflict and a recent jump in M2 money supply growth have placed the Federal Reserve in a "far less comfortable position".
- Earnings Risk: Siegel cautions that current market valuations may be deceptive. He notes that "consensus forecasts often lag reality during fast-moving macro shocks," and earnings estimates may soon drop to reflect higher input costs.
Consequently, Siegel believes a rate cut is increasingly unlikely and that investors should prepare for higher real rates in the short run.
Upcoming Economic Data
Here's what investors will be keeping an eye on this Wednesday.
- San Francisco President Mary Daly will speak at 1:05 p.m., and minutes of the Fed’s May FOMC meeting will be released by 2:00 p.m. ET.
Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets
Crude oil futures were trading lower in the early New York session by 15.30% to hover around $95.67 per barrel.
Gold Spot US Dollar rose 1.84% to hover around $4,792.64 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $5,595.46 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.99% lower at the 98.8710 level.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 4.13% higher at $71,683.27 per coin, as per the last 24 hours.
Asian markets closed higher on Wednesday, as Hong Kong's Hang Seng, China’s CSI 300, Australia's ASX 200, India’s Nifty 50, South Korea's Kospi, and Japan's Nikkei 225 indices rose. European markets were also higher in early trade.
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