Wall Street closes with robust gains, boosted by healthcare and tech

Major indexes renew record highs on Tuesday.
CBOE Volatility Index down more than 7% on the day.
Health care and information technology sectors lead gains.

Eren Sengezer FXStreet

After starting the day on a positive note, major equity indexes in the U.S. continued to push higher on Tuesday to touch their fresh intra-day record highs before closing the day substantially higher.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), Wall Street's fear gauge, dropped 7.5% on the day, pointing to an improved market sentiment. Risk-sensitive tech shares took advantage of the market mood and the S&P 500 Information Technology Sector (SPLRCT) added a little more than 1% on the day. “Tech has been by far and away the leader, and that continues to be the case both domestically and internationally,” Paul Nolte, portfolio manager at Kingsview Asset Management in Chicago, told Reuters.

In the meantime, medical device producer Medtronic's shares rose more than 5% on the back of better-than-expected earnings figures, lifting the S&P 500 Health Care Sector (SPXHC) 0.9% higher.

With the Thanksgiving holiday looming the trading volume in Wall Street is expected to thin out in the second half of the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 159.98 points, or 0.68%, to 23,590.31, the S&P 500 rose 16.91 points, or 0.65%, to 2,599.05 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 71.54 points, or 1.05%, to 6,862.29.

Today's data from the US

Chicago Fed National Activity Index points to a pickup in economic growth in October
Philly Fed: Regional nonmanufacturing activity continued to expand
US: Existing-home sales increased in October to their strongest pace since early Summer

Author

Eren Sengezer

FXStreet

As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.

EUR/USD softens below 1.1800 on Fed hawkish remarks

The EUR/USD pair edges lower to around 1.1775 during the early Asian session on Wednesday, pressured by a renewed US Dollar demand. Traders await the US President Donald Trump's State of the Union address later on Wednesday for clarity on fiscal policies.

GBP/USD regains 1.3500 and above

GBP/USD extends its advance for the third day in a row on Tuesday, this time retesting the area beyond the 1.3500 hurdle. Cable’s uptick comes despite decent gains in the Greenback and the dovish message from the BoE’s Bailey at the UK Parliament.

Gold consolidates below $5,150 as traders await Trump's State of the Union address

Gold steadies below the $5,150 level following the previous day's pullback from the monthly peak as traders opt to wait on the sidelines ahead of Trump's State of the Union address. In the meantime, trade-related uncertainties and geopolitical risks seem to act as a tailwind for the safe-haven bullion. However, the Fed's less hawkish outlook underpins the US Dollar, which, along with a positive risk tone, caps the upside for the non-yielding yellow metal.

Hyperliquid registers mild gains following CoinShares' ETP launch

Hyperliquid registered a 3% gain on Tuesday after CoinShares announced the launch of its Physical Hyperliquid Staking exchange-traded product, offering investors exposure to the token's price and staking yields.

The Citrini report: How a debatable AI narrative can shake Wall Street

That AI-related headline alone was enough to rattle investors.US stocks slid sharply on Monday after a widely circulated Citrini Research memo outlined a hypothetical “2028 Global Intelligence Crisis”, warning that rapid AI adoption could push US unemployment into double digits as early as by mid-2028.

XRP pressured by weak ETF flows and declining retail interest

Ripple (XRP) is edging lower, trading above its intraday low of $1.32 at the time of writing on Tuesday. The decline from its weekly opening of $1.39 reflects heightened volatility in the broader cryptocurrency market, accentuated by tariff-triggered uncertainty.