Market Summary
Equities are firmly higher at midday on Wednesday, September 2, with the major averages holding near session highs after a choppy, mixed open. The S&P 500 trades up 37.00 points (0.48%) to 7668.47, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is ahead 254.37 points (0.48%) to 53021.25, and the Nasdaq Composite is adding 96.45 points (0.37%) to 26217.28. The rally represents a sharp reversal from Tuesday’s broad-based selloff, which was driven by surging oil prices and escalating U.S.-Iran tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.
The session’s dominant theme has been relative stability in Treasury yields and crude oil after both spiked overnight, providing room for equities to broaden their advance. Strength has been led by Materials, Communication Services, Health Care, and Financials, while Real Estate and Utilities lag. A notable cross-current within technology has emerged: semiconductors are rallying (PHLX Semiconductor Index +0.7%), led by NVIDIA’s 4.61% surge, while software stocks are under significant pressure, with the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF down 2.7% today and 5.7% for the week.
Earnings reactions are a key driver of individual stock dispersion. Dell delivered a blowout beat-and-raise quarter that is lifting shares and reinforcing confidence in the durability of the AI infrastructure buildout, while Palo Alto Networks, despite beating estimates and guiding above consensus, is sinking as elevated expectations trigger profit-taking that has spread across software names including Palantir and CrowdStrike.
Market Snapshot
| Index | Level | Change | % Change |
|—|—|—|—|
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 53021.25 | +254.37 | +0.48% |
| S&P 500 | 7668.47 | +37.00 | +0.48% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 26217.28 | +96.45 | +0.37% |
Breadth (NYSE/Nasdaq):
- NYSE: Advancers 1,691 / Decliners 894; Volume 236.02 mln
- Nasdaq: Advancers 2,489 / Decliners 1,543; Volume 3.70 bln
WaveFinder Market Breadth:
- Primary Sentiment: Bullish (Bulls 1,041 / Bears 858)
- 4% Sentiment: Bullish (Bulls 125 / Bears 51)
- 40 SMA Sentiment: Neutral
- Stocks above 20-day SMA: 6%
- Stocks above 40-day SMA: 43.13%
- 9-Month Bulls: 22 / Bears: 7 (Follow-Through: 25%)
Sector Performance
Ranked by relative strength (per Briefing.com Industry Watch and intraday commentary):
1. Materials — Strong; led sector standings earlier in the session (+1.6%), led by steel and metals names
2. Communication Services — Strong (+1.5%), led by mega-cap components (Meta, Charter, Paramount Skydance)
3. Health Care — Strong
4. Financials — Strong
5. Information Technology — Moved into positive territory (+0.4%), supported by PHLX Semiconductor Index (+0.7%); offset by pronounced software weakness
6. Industrials — Not specifically flagged; tracking broader market
7. Consumer Discretionary — Not specifically flagged; tracking broader market
8. Consumer Staples — Not specifically flagged; tracking broader market
9. Energy — Not specifically flagged at midday despite crude oil gains
10. Real Estate — Weak
11. Utilities — Weak
Note: WaveFinder ATR data reflects volatility, not directional performance — Energy (ATR 3.50%, P89) and Consumer Staples (ATR 1.41%, P95) show elevated volatility percentile readings, while Industrials (ATR -1.72%, P0) and Real Estate (ATR -1.93%, P0) show depressed volatility percentiles.
Key Earnings & Movers
- NVIDIA (NVDA): $227.47, +$10.03 (+4.61%) — leading semiconductor strength
- Dell (DELL): $440.18, +$15.18 (+3.57%) — blowout Q2 beat-and-raise
- Palo Alto Networks (PANW): $329.66, -$32.43 (-8.96%) — beat-and-raise overshadowed by elevated expectations
- Palantir (PLTR): $166.73, -$13.19 (-7.33%) — caught in software selloff
- CrowdStrike (CRWD): $204.04, -$11.04 (-5.13%) — caught in software selloff
- Meta Platforms (META): $595.11, +$16.57 (+2.86%) — “Magnificent Seven” standout
- Charter Communications (CHTR): $153.08, +$6.89 (+4.71%) — top S&P 500 performer
- Paramount Skydance (PSKY): $11.03, +$0.48 (+4.55%) — top S&P 500 performer
- HP Inc. (HPQ): $31.36, +$0.04 (+0.11%) — opened higher in sympathy with Dell, faded to flat
Stock Spotlight
Dell Technologies (DELL) is the standout story of the session, delivering its largest EPS beat in five years alongside record revenue of $46.97 billion, up 57.7% year-over-year. The Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) segment surged 89% yr/yr to a record $31.8 billion, well ahead of prior guidance for roughly 75% growth. AI server momentum was the headline driver: record AI server orders totaled $60.9 billion, AI server revenue hit a record $16.4 billion (versus prior guidance of $15.5 billion), and backlog swelled to $95 billion. Dell has now booked more than $130 billion in AI server orders over the trailing 12 months.
Critically, the strength is broadening beyond AI. Traditional Servers and Networking revenue jumped 122% yr/yr to a record $10.5 billion, and Storage revenue rose 26% to a record $4.9 billion, signaling that data-center modernization is gaining traction independent of AI-specific demand. Management raised FY27 AI-Optimized Servers revenue guidance to $74 billion from $60 billion, and guided Q3 revenue to $49 billion at the midpoint — implying roughly 80% growth and exceeding analyst expectations. Client Solutions Group revenue also grew a healthy 20% to $15.0 billion, with demand exceeding available supply. The magnitude of the raise leaves investors with little to criticize and reinforces the view that the AI infrastructure spending cycle remains durable and is now spilling into adjacent, non-AI hardware categories.
Bond Market & Treasuries
Treasury yields are little changed to modestly lower at midday after touching fresh highs for the year in early trade. As of 11:57 ET:
- 2-Year: 4.38% (-1 bp)
- 3-Year: 4.45% (-1 bp)
- 5-Year: 4.55% (unchanged)
- 10-Year: 4.80% (unchanged, +1/32 in price)
- 30-Year: 5.27% (unchanged)
Key drivers include a rebound in crude oil (approaching $91/bbl) that pressured Treasuries off intraday highs, a softer-than-expected ADP Employment Change report (+38,000 vs. 47,000 consensus), and stronger-than-expected Factory Orders. New York Fed President Williams (FOMC voter) noted that recent inflation data has been “encouraging.” Overnight, Treasuries had bucked broader global weakness, even as JGB yields and 10-year yields in Germany, France, and the U.K. hit fresh highs for the year. USD/JPY trades at 158.79 and EUR/USD at 1.1592.
Commodities
- WTI Crude Oil: $90.73/bbl, +$0.50 (+0.5%) as of the 11:30 ET update, though later commentary (11:57 ET) noted crude approaching $91/bbl; overnight prices had reached as high as $92/bbl before easing to $89.54 pre-market.
- Gold, Silver, and Copper price data were not available in the source materials for this session.
Overseas Markets
Specific Asian and European index levels were not provided in today’s source data, but key regional developments include:
- Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised its official cash rate by 25 basis points to 2.75%, as expected.
- South Korea: August CPI rose 0.2% m/m (vs. 0.3% expected, -0.2% prior) and 3.1% yr/yr (vs. 3.2% expected, 2.8% prior).
- Australia: Q2 GDP rose 0.4% qtr/qtr (vs. 0.3% expected, 0.3% prior) and 2.1% yr/yr (vs. 1.8% expected, 2.5% prior). August AIG Construction Index improved to -6.9 from -40.8, and the AIG Manufacturing Index rose to -16.
- South Korea and Japan agreed to deepen cooperation on energy, critical minerals, and carbon rules.
- The G20 finance ministers meeting in North Carolina ended without a joint statement after China declined to support language on Strait of Hormuz shipping, non-market policies, and external surpluses. Treasury Secretary Bessent reiterated concerns over China’s industrial overcapacity and cheap exports.
- ECB policymaker Nagel indicated the market is “all but certain” of a rate hike later this month.
- Bond markets in Japan, Germany, France, and the U.K. saw 10-year yields hit fresh highs for the year overnight.
Economic Data
- ADP Employment Change (August): +38,000 vs. Briefing.com consensus of +47,000 (prior: +44,000) — a soft reading viewed as bond-market friendly.
- Factory Orders (July): +0.9% m/m vs. consensus of +0.6% (prior revised to -0.2% from -0.3%). Ex-transportation, orders rose 0.6% following a 0.1% decline in June. Shipments of manufactured goods rose 0.8% after being flat in June. Takeaway: factory activity ran at a good clip in July across durable and nondurable goods categories.
Looking Ahead
- Friday, September 4: BLS Employment Situation report (official August jobs data), which will be closely watched following today’s softer ADP print and amid ongoing market sensitivity to interest-rate expectations ahead of this month’s FOMC meeting.
- Continued focus on Treasury yield direction and crude oil prices as the primary swing factors for equities, particularly given thinner late-summer trading volumes.
- Ongoing monitoring of software-sector weakness following PANW, PLTR, and CRWD declines despite otherwise solid fundamental results.