Wall Street Stocks Surge to New Highs Despite Ongoing Inflation Concerns
Stocks on Wall Street rose to new highs on Wednesday, continuing their record-breaking streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 473 points, or 0.9 percent, while the S&P 500 rose 0.1 percent. However, the Nasdaq composite fell 0.4 percent.
The Walt Disney Co. led the gains after easily beating Wall Street's profit forecasts, thanks to a US$1 billion box office haul from 'Toy Story 5' and theme park revenue. Booking Holdings also surged 6.5 percent after reporting strong travel demand drove profit and revenue growth during its most recent quarter.
On the other hand, Elon Musk's SpaceX fell 11.9 percent following its first quarterly report as a public company, which showed it sharply boosted spending on artificial intelligence. This weighed on Advanced Micro Devices, which dropped 6.2 percent after Musk announced he would exclusively use Nvidia's chips for his AI technology.
The price of Brent crude held steady at US$79.26 per barrel, but oil prices have been swinging for months due to the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict and its impact on global supply. This has contributed to inflation concerns hanging over markets and the Federal Reserve, which is expected to raise rates at least once before the end of 2026.