NEW YORK — U.S. stocks surged on Wednesday, snapping a recent losing streak as investors were buoyed by a significant jump in Apple’s shares and a largely positive corporate earnings season.
The S&P 500 gained 0.73% to close at 6,345.06, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.21% to settle at 21,169.42. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also finished in positive territory, rising 81.38 points, or 0.18%, to end the day at 44,193.12.
The market’s primary catalyst was Apple (AAPL), which saw its stock climb 5% after a White House official confirmed the tech giant plans to boost its investment in domestic manufacturing by an additional $100 billion. This commitment brings Apple’s total planned U.S. investment to $600 billion over the next four years.
Wednesday’s gains marked a welcome turnaround for the market, which had seen the S&P 500 close lower in five of the last six sessions and the Dow suffer six negative sessions in the past seven.
Despite the positive day, some analysts see the market in a “holding pattern.” Michael Green, chief strategist at Simplify Asset Management, suggested the market is still “digesting” recent volatility. “The payroll report was disappointing and the [Federal Reserve] did not cut,” Green said, explaining the cautious sentiment.
Investors also continue to monitor trade policy. The Trump administration announced another 25% levy on goods from India, but Green noted that the impact of tariffs has “not been as bad as we thought,” leading to a “wait-and-see mode” among traders.
Corporate earnings have been a bright spot, with about 81% of S&P 500 companies that have reported so far beating analyst expectations, according to FactSet. This was evident in Wednesday’s movers:
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McDonald’s (MCD) shares rose nearly 3% after the fast-food chain beat estimates and reported its fastest same-store sales growth in almost two years.
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Arista Networks (ANET) rallied an impressive 17% on a stronger-than-expected report.
However, not all earnings news was positive. Snap (SNAP) shares tumbled 17% after its revenue fell short of expectations, and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) dropped more than 6% after its adjusted earnings per share missed estimates.
Green expressed concern that investors are not rewarding strong earnings as robustly as in the past, suggesting that high expectations were already priced in. “There’s increasing questions about the quality of the earnings that are emerging,” he cautioned.
