The main U.S. equity indexes posted modest gains Wednesday, with the earnings calendar providing the price-moving news while the Federal Reserve observes its "quiet period" around next week's two-day policy meeting.
President Donald Trump posted another critique of Fed Chair Jerome Powell upon Wednesday's release of June housing data, as yields across U.S. Treasury maturities ticked higher.
Trump blamed Powell for what remains a slow housing market. "Housing in our Country is lagging because Jerome 'Too Late' Powell refuses to lower Interest Rates," the president said on Truth Social.
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The National Association of Realtors reported housing sales declined as home prices hit record highs in June amid affordability challenges. Note that mortgage rates move with market-based U.S. Treasury yields rather than on monetary policy and the target range for the fed funds rate.
The next Fed meeting kicks off this Tuesday, July 29, and concludes on Wednesday, July 30, with the latest policy statement.
The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note, a proxy for a multitude of big-ticket consumer purchases and the benchmark for 30-year mortgage rates, was up to 4.388% Wednesday from 4.336% Tuesday.
The yield on the 2-year note, which is seen as most sensitive to Fed policy moves, inched up to 3.886% from 3.831%. And the 30-year yield edged closer to the psychologically significant 5% level, rising to 4.944% from 4.903%.
By Wednesday's closing bell, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average had added 1.1% to 45,010, the broad-based S&P 500 was up 0.8% to 6,358 and the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite had risen 0.6% to 21,020.
The Dow is now four points from a new all-time high. Both the S&P and the Nasdaq closed at fresh highs Wednesday.
GEV stock powers up on AI demand
GE Vernova (GEV, +14.6%) got big boosts from both AI and good old natural gas, with the stock surging after management reported expectations-beating second-quarter earnings and raised its full-year guidance.
Jefferies analyst Julien Dumoulin-Smith highlighted GE Vernova's gas power division, describing its results as "robust."
In late May, Dumoulin-Smith downgraded GEV stock from Buy to Hold but raised his 12-month target price to $517 from $427. His current target is $565, though with GEV now trading north of $600, the valuation concerns the analyst expressed in late spring are in stark relief too.
Still, Wall Street remains bullish on one of the best green energy stocks to buy for its potential to meet power demand driven by the AI infrastructure buildout.
Among the analysts who cover it who are tracked by S&P Global Market Intelligence, 24 rate GEV a Buy, eight call it a Hold and one says Sell. The average 12-month target price is $511.75.
Honda, Toyota stocks rise on tariff deal
Japanese automakers Honda Motor (HMC, +13.1%) and Toyota Motor (TM, +13.7%) enjoyed double-digit gains Wednesday after President Trump announced a deal on tariffs with Japan – showing how investing abroad could pay off.
At the same time, foreign stocks such as HMC and TM are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and trade just like Ford (F, +1.7%), General Motors (GM, +8.7%) and Stellantis (STLA, +11.6%).
The domestic automakers also enjoyed big gains a day after GM said it won't raise prices to offset the impact of tariffs.
How to play the nuclear revolution
Oklo (OKLO, +9.3%) demonstrated again that it's a good answer to how to invest in the nuclear revolution, a day after the startup and Vertiv Holdings (VRT, +3.9%) announced a partnership to develop power and cooling systems for AI data centers. Vertiv proved it's one of the best stocks to buy now, period.
OKLO, which completed its IPO in May 2024, jumped 23% on May 23 after President Trump signed executive orders to advance nuclear energy.
The company is developing advanced fission power plants to provide clean, reliable energy at scale.
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