Wall Street shook off its Monday malaise and pushed broadly higher Tuesday, as investors decided Moody's surprise U.S. credit rating downgrade was more noise than signal. All three major indexes finished in the green, with the Nasdaq leading the charge thanks to a powerful day in mega-cap tech.
Nvidia was the story of the session, surging over 4% on fresh reports of a blockbuster AI chip order from a top-tier cloud provider. That single move was enough to lift the entire semiconductor sector and inject optimism into a market that had been rattled heading into the week. AMD and Broadcom tagged along for the ride, each gaining more than 2%.
Not everyone celebrated, though. Financials were the clear laggard as Moody's downgrade lingered over the banking sector. JPMorgan led declines among the big banks, dropping 2.3% as traders fretted over what rising long-term Treasury yields could mean for loan books and unrealized bond losses. The 10-year yield edged up to 4.61%, keeping some pressure on rate-sensitive names.
Gold remained elevated above $3,240, reflecting residual safe-haven demand, while oil held steady near $78 a barrel. Overall, the mood shifted from anxious to cautiously optimistic as the session wore on — a sign that dip buyers still have conviction.