Iran Diplomacy Hopes, Bitcoin Surge Power Relief Rally: What's Moving Markets Wednesday?

Wall Street mounted a relief rally Wednesday as traders weighed reports of potential U.S.-Iran diplomatic talks.

The dominant catalyst was a premarket headline from the New York Times suggesting the two sides could pursue diplomatic dialogue. Oil fell after two straight sessions of rally and technology advanced as ceasefire odds edged higher in prediction markets.

By midday trading in New York, the Nasdaq 100 led with a 1.5% gain to 25,100 and the S&P 500 rose 0.8% to 6,875. The Russell 2000 added 1.0% to 2,630.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average underperformed, slipping 0.1% to 48,860, weighed by consumer staples weakness. The CBOE Volatility Index plunged 11.6% to 20.84.

Technology led all S&P 500 sectors, with the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLK) gaining 1.8%. Consumer discretionary added 1.7% and communications climbed 0.8%. Energy was the session’s clear laggard, with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) down 1.2% as crude prices retreated.

Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) topped $71,000 for the first time in a month, rising 7% and lifting crypto names on the back of de-escalation hopes and rising odds for passage of the U.S. Clarity Act on stablecoin regulation.

Coinbase Global, Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) led Russell 1000 gainers with a 15.38% rally. Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) surged 11.83%.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield held at 4.07% as the risk-on tone capped safe-haven demand. Gold edged up 1.0% to $5,148.05 per ounce on residual geopolitical uncertainty.

Brent crude fell 0.5% to $81.00 per barrel and WTI crude slipped 0.8% to $74.07 on diplomacy optimism. Natural gas dropped 4.4% to $2.92.

Emerging market equities recovered alongside U.S. risk appetite. The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (NYSE:EEM) gained 0.9% and the iShares MSCI Mexico ETF (NYSE:EWW) outperformed, rising 2.2%. The iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (NYSE:EWZ) advanced 1.6%.

Wednesday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) rose 0.9% to $631.14.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) rose 0.7% to $488.74.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series (NASDAQ:QQQ) rallied 1.7% to $611.65.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) traded 1.1% higher to $262.10.

Wednesday’s Earnings Movers

Brown-Forman Corporation (NYSE:BF) dropped 8.94% as the Jack Daniel’s parent beat Q3 EPS estimates — $0.58 reported vs. $0.48 expected — but reiterated a full-year organic sales decline and faces amplified European market risk from Trump’s threatened Spain sanctions.

GitLab Inc. (NASDAQ:GTLB) fell 7.38% to $24.73 and Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LITE) declined 5.71% to $654.80.

CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) rose 1.5% after Q4 EPS of $1.12 beat the $1.10 estimate on revenue of $1.31 billion.

Primo Brands Corporation (NYSE:PRMB) fell 1%. Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) surged over 7%, while Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) fell 5%.

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