Wall Street ended Wednesday in positive territory, lifted by a cooler-than-expected tone in the Federal Reserve's May meeting minutes. The minutes revealed that most officials remain cautious about cutting rates too soon, but struck a notably less hawkish tone than markets feared — enough to nudge equities broadly higher. The S&P 500 climbed 0.6%, the Dow added 0.4%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq led the charge with a 0.9% gain.
Nvidia was the clear standout of the session, rallying 3.4% after Morgan Stanley boosted its price target, underscoring relentless institutional conviction in the AI infrastructure buildout. The move dragged the broader semiconductor space higher, with AMD and Broadcom both posting solid gains. Tech's resilience continues to be the engine of this market.
On the downside, CVS Health tumbled 4.1% after slashing its full-year profit outlook. The culprit: surging medical costs inside its Aetna insurance arm, a recurring theme across managed-care names in 2026. The selloff weighed on the broader healthcare sector, which was the worst-performing group in the S&P 500 today.
Oil held steady near $74.80 a barrel as traders weighed mixed signals from OPEC+ production chatter. Gold edged up slightly to $2,418, maintaining its safe-haven premium. The VIX eased to 17.4, signaling that investors are broadly comfortable — though not complacent — heading into the Memorial Day holiday weekend.