Wall Street Hits Record Highs as Oracle Surges, Fed Rate-Cut Bets Strengthen on Cool Inflation Data

NEW YORK, Sept 11 (VoM): The S&P 500 and Nasdaq reached fresh intraday record highs on Wednesday, fueled by a dramatic rally in Oracle shares and softer-than-expected U.S. inflation data that reinforced expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts this year.

Oracle stock skyrocketed 41% to an all-time high, its biggest single-day percentage gain since 1992, after the tech giant reported soaring demand for its cloud services from artificial intelligence firms. The surge lifted Oracle’s market value to US$969 billion (RM4.07 trillion), overtaking Eli Lilly, JPMorgan Chase, and Walmart, and edging closer to Tesla’s US$1.14 trillion valuation.

The rally spread across the technology sector, with Nvidia up 4.3%, Advanced Micro Devices gaining 3.8%, and Broadcom climbing 9.6%. The semiconductor index advanced 2.6% to a record high, while power suppliers linked to data centers also rose sharply, including Constellation Energy (+8%), Vistra (+9%), and GE Vernova (+6.2%).

Markets also drew support from a cooler-than-expected producer price index (PPI) report, which traders said strengthened the case for monetary easing. According to CME’s FedWatch tool, bets on a 25-basis-point rate cut at the Fed’s Sept 16–17 meeting stand at 90%, with only 10% anticipating a larger 50 bps reduction.

At 11:53 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 197.88 points (0.43%) to 45,513.46, while the S&P 500 rose 32.77 points (0.5%) to 6,545.38, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 93.85 points (0.43%) to 21,973.34. Losses in consumer discretionary and healthcare stocks weighed on the Dow.

Investors are now awaiting Thursday’s consumer price index (CPI) report, seen as a key test for the Fed’s policy outlook. Analysts warned that any upside surprise could dampen expectations for aggressive rate cuts in 2025.

“Combining softer PPI data with the Fed’s focus on the labor market and ongoing downward revisions to jobs numbers all support the expectation for a rate cut,” said Jordan Rizzuto, CIO at GammaRoad Capital Partners.

Meanwhile, Wall Street’s September performance has defied its historically weak trend. Since 2000, the S&P 500 has averaged a 1.5% loss in September, but optimism over easing inflation and resilient tech demand has prompted brokerages, including Barclays and Deutsche Bank, to raise their 2025 year-end targets.

Still, not all tech stocks shared in the rally. Synopsys tumbled 33.7%, its largest one-day drop on record, after missing Wall Street’s revenue forecasts, dragging peer Cadence Design Systems down 7%.

Overall, advancing issues outpaced decliners by 1.49-to-1 on the NYSE and 1.09-to-1 on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted 19 new 52-week highs and six new lows, while the Nasdaq logged 97 new highs and 43 new lows.

@Voice of Malaysia News