US stocks steadily gained throughout the day, buoyed by US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a trade deal with Vietnam.
The S&P 500 rose 0.5% to close at a record high, the Nasdaq 100 gained 0.7%, and the Russell 2000 outperformed with a 1.3% advance.
Energy and materials were the best-performing S&P 500 sector ETFs, while tech also bounced back with a 1% advance.
That Vietnam pact was a boon for Nike, which has major operations in the Southeast Asian nation, and put in a 4% gain on the day.
Crypto-adjacent stocks had a strong session, with Coinbase up nearly 6% amid its acquisition of token management platform Liquifi, Robinhood hitting an intraday all-time high above $100 along with a record close, and miner Hut 8 soaring on an energy deal.
(Robinhood Markets Inc. is the parent company of Sherwood Media, an independently operated media company subject to certain legal and regulatory restrictions.)
Elsewhere in thematic pockets of the area that posted big gains: Quantum stocks surged, with Rigetti Computing’s 15% gain leading the way after the company was initiated with a buy rating at Cantor Fitzgerald. Its pure-play peers in the space were up between 8% and 12% on the day, as well.
Constellation Brands, which initially swooned after reporting underwhelming earnings after the close Tuesday, ended up 4.5% higher.
It was a mixed bag for EV stocks, with Tesla jumping despite posting a small miss on Q2 deliveries, and Rivian dropping after both production and deliveries came in shy of estimates.
And now for the bad news:
Centene tanked 40% as management withdrew full-year guidance after an actuarial study showed the company’s business was not at all evolving how they anticipated. Fellow health insurer and retail darling Oscar Health slumped about 19% in sympathy.
Intel sank after Reuters reported that its new CEO is mulling a manufacturing strategy shift that could prompt a massive write-off.
Paramount dipped after agreeing to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit with the president.
