Wall Street closed higher on Wednesday (Thursday AEST), with the Nasdaq Composite reaching a fresh record close as gains in major technology names buoyed sentiment despite escalating tariff rhetoric from United States President Donald Trump.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 217.5 points, or 0.5%, closing at 44,458.3, the S&P 500 gained 37.7 points, or 0.6%, to finish at 6,263.3, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 192.9 points, or 0.9%, to end at an all-time high of 20,611.3.
Chipmaker NVIDIA led the charge, advancing 1.8% during the session. The stock briefly touched a market capitalisation of US$4 trillion, becoming the first company in history to do so.
Fellow AI-linked giants Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Alphabet also gained 1.7%, 1.4%, and 1.3%, respectively.
The rally came in spite of heightened trade tensions following a series of tariff declarations from President Trump this week. On Wednesday, Trump issued letters setting new U.S. tariff rates on imports from six additional countries - Philippines, Brunei, Moldova, Algeria, Iraq, Libya and Sri Lanka.
The move follows similar letters earlier in the week targeting 14 nations, such as South Korea and Japan.
In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump reaffirmed that there would be no changes or extensions to the newly announced tariffs, which are scheduled to take effect from 1 August.
Added to the trade-related uncertainty, Trump announced a 50% tariff on copper imports and warned that more sector-specific levies would soon follow.
Among the most striking proposals, he threatened to impose tariffs of up to 200% on imported pharmaceuticals, though he signalled a grace period of up to 18 months for implementation.
In monetary policy, minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent meeting revealed a broadly cautious stance among policymakers. While no immediate changes to interest rates were decided, the summary showed that most officials expected a rate cut would likely be warranted later this year.
“Most participants assessed that some reduction in the target range for the federal funds rate this year would likely be appropriate,” the minutes stated, adding that inflation stemming from tariffs was likely to be “temporary and modest,” with potential downside risks to employment and economic growth.
Yields on U.S. government bonds dipped, with the 10-year Treasury yield falling by 1.5% to 4.336%, while the 2-year yield slipped 1.2% to 3.849%.
