Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500 Rally to New Records as Wall Street Drops War Fears

Tech stocks surged Wednesday as pent-up demand got unleashed after days of war tremors kept a lid on optimism.

🚀 Tech Leads Charge to Fresh Highs

• The Nasdaq Composite IXIC jumped 1.6% Wednesday for its 11th straight day of gains, closing at its first record since October and marking its longest winning streak since 2021 — the kind of momentum traders usually screenshot for motivation.
• Chip heavyweight Nvidia NVDA extended its own streak to 11 sessions with a 1.2% rise, reinforcing the idea that semiconductors remain the backbone of the current tech rally rather than just a supporting character.
• Strong performances from Microsoft MSFT and Tesla TSLA helped push the S&P 500 up 0.8% to 7,022.95 — comfortably clearing its previous record set in January.

🕊️ War Fears Fade, Risk Appetite Returns

• Investors grew more confident that the US and Iran could eventually reach a deal to stabilize the region and reopen the Strait of Hormuz — a critical corridor for global energy shipments that markets watch almost as closely as interest rates. At least until earlier this week.
• Headlines out of the Middle East stayed relatively quiet, with mediators continuing to push for a ceasefire extension but no confirmed second round of talks yet. Sometimes, no news really is good news — especially for equities.
• Oil prices reflected that calmer tone, with US crude finishing little changed near $91.29 a barrel. Stable energy costs tend to ease inflation concerns, which markets treat like removing a speed bump from the rally road.

📊 Dow Lags as Rally Stays Tech-Heavy

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped about 72 points, or 0.2%, showing the rally wasn’t broad-based across all sectors. When tech runs this hard, the Dow sometimes ends up watching from the sidelines.
• The divergence highlights where investors see the strongest growth story right now: software, chips and AI infrastructure rather than traditional industrial heavyweights.
• More broadly, the rebound marks a milestone recovery from earlier war-driven losses. Markets didn’t wait for a signed peace agreement. All it took was the lack of bad headlines.