Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on November 07, 2025 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to new heights on Wednesday, extending its gains from the previous session.
The 30-stock Dow was last up 423 points, or 0.9%, and had hit a fresh intraday high in the session. The S&P 500 rose 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite lagged, falling 0.3%.
The Dow’s outperformance was supported by a boost in shares of key financial names, such as Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and American Express. All three stocks had notched fresh records during the day. A move higher in others like UnitedHealth, International Business Machines and Nike propped up the index as well.
Meanwhile, Advanced Micro Devices shares popped more than 8% on the heels of CEO Lisa Su saying Tuesday that the company anticipates the total market for artificial intelligence data center parts and systems will reach $1 trillion by 2030. Su also said that the company should see its overall revenue growth increase as a result of “insatiable” demand for AI chips.
While AMD was a winner Wednesday, other technology stocks had faced some pressure. Nvidia pulled back from its rise earlier in the day, which was spurred by Foxconn – one of its suppliers – reporting a 17% year-over-year increase in earnings. Both Nvidia and AMD had suffered a losing session Tuesday, dropping about 3% and more than 2%, respectively. Those two and others like Oracle swinging lower in the previous session reflect the uneasy sentiment among investors that tech valuations could be stretched after their recent surge.
A tale of two markets continued to play out Wednesday. The trend emerged on Tuesday, when the Dow rallied more than 550 points, and the Nasdaq slipped. The S&P 500 also notched its third positive session in a row. Consumer stocks such as Walmart, Home Depot and McDonald’s propped up the 30-stock Dow in the previous session as traders moved into parts of the market with lower valuations. The health care sector was the top-performing sector, driven by moves higher in names such as Eli Lilly and Johnson & Johnson.
Investors are keeping an eye on Washington, as the U.S. government could reopen as soon as the end of this week. The Senate on Monday evening passed a spending bill that has since moved to the House of Representatives for a final vote. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told CNBC Wednesday that he expects the chamber to vote on the bill around 7 p.m. ET.