Stock Market Today - Oracle’s AI Boom Lifts Nasdaq and S&P 500 to Records, Dow Slides 293

Nasdaq and S&P 500 Push Higher While Dow Slides

The U.S. equity markets opened Wednesday with a split performance. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) climbed 0.5% to a new all-time high of 6,541.82, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) advanced 0.49% to 21,988.30, both riding the wave of a powerful rally in technology and AI-linked equities. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI), however, lagged sharply, falling 293 points (-0.64%) to 45,417.96 as its heavier weighting in traditional sectors left it exposed to weakness outside the technology sphere.

The driver was twofold: a surprise cooling in inflation data and a surge in Oracle (ORCL), whose shares rocketed more than 42% to $344.72, marking its best session in decades.

Oracle (ORCL) Stuns Wall Street With AI Cloud Ambitions

Oracle stunned investors with a forecast that put it directly into the AI infrastructure race alongside Nvidia (NVDA), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Broadcom (AVGO). CEO Safra Catz revealed Oracle expects Cloud Infrastructure revenue to hit $144 billion by 2030, compared with just $18 billion expected in fiscal 2026.

The company reported Q1 revenue of $14.9 billion, a hair below consensus of $15 billion, and EPS of $1.47, just shy of the expected $1.48. But the miss was overshadowed by blockbuster multicloud contracts with OpenAI, Meta Platforms (META), and Elon Musk’s xAI. Oracle’s remaining performance obligation surged 359% to $455 billion, with expectations it will top half a trillion in future backlog.

Analysts responded aggressively: Bank of America upgraded Oracle to “Buy” with a price target of $368, implying another 7% upside beyond today’s explosive move.

Nvidia (NVDA), AMD (AMD), and Broadcom (AVGO) Ride the AI Wave

The Oracle announcement set off a chain reaction in chip stocks. Nvidia (NVDA) rallied nearly 5% to $179.17, adding to its dominant role as Oracle’s GPU supplier. AMD (AMD) jumped 3.4%, while Broadcom (AVGO) surged more than 9%, as Wall Street bet that hyperscale AI demand would drive semiconductor capital spending for years.

Oracle itself plans to raise capital expenditures to $35 billion in fiscal 2026, well above the prior $25 billion estimate, underlining the depth of its GPU procurement plans.

Inflation Relief: Producer Prices Decline Unexpectedly

Markets also cheered fresh signs of cooling inflation. The Producer Price Index (PPI) dropped 0.1% in August, against expectations of a 0.3% increase. Core PPI, excluding food and energy, also declined 0.1%, defying forecasts of a rise. On an annual basis, producer prices increased 2.6%, well below the 3.3% consensus.

This reading reinforces the likelihood of a Federal Reserve rate cut in September. Fed futures now price a 100% probability of a cut, with nearly 90% odds for a 25 bps move and a growing 10% chance of a jumbo 50 bps cut. Allianz’s Mohamed El-Erian suggested that, given the weak labor market and softer inflation, the Fed should seriously consider the larger reduction.

Dow Dragged by Non-Tech Stocks Despite Oracle Frenzy

The divergence across indices is stark. While Nasdaq and S&P 500 hit fresh records, the Dow was weighed down by declines in more cyclical and consumer-oriented names. The dynamic underscores the market’s increasingly narrow breadth, with AI and semiconductors carrying the broader rally while banks, industrials, and consumer stocks falter.

One notable underperformer was Chewy (CHWY), which plunged 15.7% to $35.49 after reporting diluted EPS of just $0.14, down from $0.68 a year earlier, despite revenue growth of 8.6% to $3.1 billion.

GameStop (GME) and Meme Traders Reemerge

GameStop (GME) jumped 10% premarket and 4% after-hours, with quarterly EPS of $0.25 on revenue of $972.2 million. The company also disclosed that its bitcoin holdings are now worth $528.6 million, rekindling speculative interest.

Novo Nordisk (NVO) Cuts Jobs Despite Weight-Loss Boom

Danish pharmaceutical leader Novo Nordisk (NVO) announced it will cut 9,000 jobs (11.5% of its workforce) to reallocate resources toward its booming obesity drug pipeline, including Wegovy. U.S.-listed shares rose 1%, with Copenhagen-listed shares up 3.7%, as investors approved of the cost controls despite the headline.

Klarna (KLAR) IPO Debuts at $40 per Share

In a major IPO debut, Klarna (KLAR) priced at $40 per share, raising $1.37 billion and valuing the BNPL giant at $15.1 billion. While still far below its 2021 SoftBank-driven peak of $45.6 billion, it represents a sharp recovery from its $6.7 billion valuation in 2022. The NYSE debut underscores renewed appetite for fintech despite tariff and regulatory volatility.

Gold Prices Hold Near Record as Safe-Haven Demand Rises

Gold futures (GC=F) traded at $3,685.50, up 40% year-to-date and far outpacing the S&P 500’s 10% gain. The rally highlights deep skepticism toward the U.S. dollar, which has declined 10% YTD, as investors hedge against both policy uncertainty and geopolitical escalation.

Unlike equities, gold’s bullishness is tied less to growth and more to risk aversion. Persistent distrust of U.S. debt markets has amplified flows into the metal, with many analysts suggesting 2026 could carry further upside if Fed cuts accelerate.

Oil Markets Jittery After Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones

Geopolitical risks resurfaced in energy markets after Poland confirmed it shot down Russian drones over its airspace, marking the first direct NATO engagement with Russian assets since 2022. Brent crude (BZ=F) rose 1.02% to $67.07, while WTI crude (CL=F) climbed 1.05% to $63.29.

The move followed Israel’s strikes in Doha against Hamas-linked targets, adding fresh volatility. Energy traders are bracing for wider escalations, with oil flows in Eastern Europe increasingly vulnerable.

That's TradingNEWS