US Markets
Tech carries the tape as yields rise and volatility falls
A lopsided rally in megacap tech powers the major indexes higher while bonds and the VIX send a mixed signal.
U.S. stocks close higher across the board. The S&P 500 gains 1.7% to 7,437.6299, the Nasdaq Composite rises 2.8% to 25,122.1777, the Dow adds 1.2% to 52,208.0586, and the Russell 2000 climbs 1.4% to 2,946.1011. The S&P spends most of the day trading in a tight band before pushing to the finish.
The sector split is as sharp as the index move is broad. Tech jumps 5.5%, far ahead of every other group, while communication services falls 2.7%, staples sink 2.2%, and health care drops 1.6%. Industrials rise 1.0%, financials add 0.6%, and discretionary gains 0.7%, giving the market a pretty clear leadership story.
The biggest names help explain the tone. CNBC reports Amazon hikes 2026 capex to $220 billion due to higher memory costs, and Microsoft is one of the day’s most active names, up 15.5%. Intel climbs 11.3% on heavy volume, NVIDIA gains 2.7%, and AMD rises 13.0% on the watchlist, all of which keeps the AI trade front and center.
Options positioning looks guarded, not euphoric. SPY shows a put/call ratio of 1.12, while QQQ sits at 1.18, with more puts than calls in both contracts. Even with that backdrop, the VIX falls 17.3% to 17.09, suggesting traders finish the session less worried than they started it.