Stocks rallied Wednesday after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged, as expected, while highlighting inroads against inflation. Traders also poured back into megacap tech as chip names soared.

• The S&P 500 jumped 1.58% to close at 5,522.30.
• Nasdaq Composite popped 2.64% to 17,599.40.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 99.46 points, or 0.24%, ending at 40,842.79.

During Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference, he indicated that if data continues to show slowing inflation, a policy rate reduction could occur as soon as September.

The Federal Open Market Committee noted progress in bringing inflation closer to the 2% target. LPL chief economist Jeffrey Roach stated, “The Fed used today’s statement to prepare markets for upcoming rate cuts. As inflation rates improve and unemployment increases, the Fed can cut rates yet keep the nominal funds rate above the inflation rate.”

Jobs data released Wednesday showed a slowing economy, with private job growth in July at a three-year low.

Megacap tech stocks rebounded, with Nvidia gaining 12.8%, while Apple, Meta Platforms, and Amazon also rose. Microsoft dropped over 1% due to disappointing cloud revenue. Boeing added 2% after announcing a new CEO but reported a larger-than-expected loss. Humana fell 10.6% due to weak guidance.

Despite tech’s revival, the Nasdaq Composite ended July down 0.8%. The S&P 500 rose 1.1%, and the Dow gained 4.4% for its best month since December.

Company News

Analysts praise new CEO at Boeing as stock jumps on Wednesday

Boeing’s $Boeing Company BA$ CEO change is drawing early praise from Wall Street. Morgan Stanley’s Kristine Liwag noted that Kelly Ortberg’s selection is positive due to his strong tenure at Rockwell Collins. Benchmark’s Josh Sullivan and Bank of America’s Ronald Epstein also expressed confidence in Ortberg’s capabilities. Boeing shares rose about 4% during the day’s trading session.

Wall Street stands by Advanced Micro Devices after strong earnings

Strong results and a forecast boost from Advanced Micro Devices $Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. AMD$ are reaffirming Wall Street’s confidence in the chipmaker’s AI potential after a recent sell-off.

AMD shares rose over 7% after strong Q2 results and increased data center GPU revenue expectations to $4.5 billion this year. Analysts from UBS, Barclays, and JPMorgan highlighted the positive outlook, though Morgan Stanley noted concerns over deployment delays for AMD’s MI300 chips and competition with Nvidia’s established ecosystem.

Nvidia surges 11% after strong AMD earnings, heads for best day since February

Nvidia $NVIDIA Corporation NVDA$ surged 11% after strong results and guidance from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), boosting confidence in the AI sector. AMD rose over 6%, while Qualcomm and Marvell Technology each gained at least 4%. Broadcom jumped 9%, and Micron Technology added over 7%. The VanEck Semiconductor Index increased more than 6%, heading for its best session since February.