Dow Rallies To All-Time Highs, Small Caps Outperform Tech, Gold Hits Records On Heightened September Rate Cut Bets: What's Driving Markets Tuesday?
Wall Street continues to experience a series of memorable days, with the bulls riding the rally with increasing confidence, certain that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates in September.
Fed futures currently indicate a 100% probability that policymakers will cut interest rates in two months, according to the CME Group‘s FedWatch tool.
This time, blue-chip stocks and gold are stealing the spotlight by breaking their all-time highs, while small caps, as tracked by the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM), have posted their fifth consecutive day in the green, marking their best five-day rally in over four years.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged to 40,800 points at 12:30 p.m. ET, up 1.5%, marking its best session since late May. Sector-wise, industrials rose 2.1%, eyeing the strongest one-day gain since October.
The S&P 500 increased marginally by 0.3%, while tech stocks in the Nasdaq 100 slipped by 0.4%, as the rotation from large-cap tech to small-cap and cyclical laggards continues.
Gold, as tracked by the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD), rose 1.6% to $2,460 per ounce, as Treasury yields sharply fell following Powell’s dovish remarks on Monday and a stagnation in retail sales growth in June. The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NASDAQ:TLT) rallied 1.1%.
Oil prices dropped to $80 a barrel, down 1%, heading for the lowest close in nearly a month.
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) fell by 0.5%, on track to snap a four-day losing streak.
Chart of The Day: Blue-Chip Stocks Achieve All-Time Highs
Image: Benzinga Pro
Tuesday’s Performance In Major U.S. Indices, ETFs
| Major Indices | Price | 1-day % change |
| Russell 2000 | 2,240.18 | 2.3% |
| Dow Jones | 40,816.48 | 1.5% |
| S&P 500 | 5,646.17 | 0.3% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 20,296.39 | -0.4% |
According to Benzinga Pro data:
- The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) was 0.2% higher to $562.48.
- The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) rose by 1.4% to $408.06.
- The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust (ARCA: QQQ) eased 0.5% to $493.58.
- Sector-wise, the Industrials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLI) outperformed, up by 2.2%, while the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLK) lagged, down 0.9%.
Tuesday’s Stock Movers
- Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) soared over 5%, marking new all-time highs and the strongest day in 2024 amid stronger than expected results in the second quarter.
- Other stocks reacting to company earnings were UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH), up 5.3%; Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), up 2.6%; Charles Schwab Corp. (NYSE:SCHW), down over 8%; Progressive Corp. (NYSE:PGR), down 3.4%; PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC), up 4.4% and State Street Corp. (NYSE:STT), up 5.9%.
- Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) rose over 4% as Bernstein increased the company’s price target from $215 to $222 amid a restart of China deliveries.
- Grail Inc. (NYSE:GRAL) surged over 18% following the company’s announcement that it successfully enrolled more than 35,000 participants for its potential multi-cancer early detection test.
- Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) shares are trading higher on Tuesday after activist investment fund Starboard Value sent a letter to the company outlining initiatives to improve growth, profitability, and capital allocation.
- Shares of Trump Media & Technology Corp. (NASDAQ:DJT) dropped over 8% on Tuesday, following a surge of more than 30% the previous day.
- Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) gained 28%, topping the performance within Russell 2000 constituents.
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