Wall Street extends rally as trade truce fuels optimism
US stocks continued their upward climb on Wednesday, as easing tensions between Washington and Beijing helped extend a tariff-driven rally for a third straight session.
The S&P 500 ticked 0.10% higher to close at 5,892.58, cementing its return to positive territory for 2025. The Nasdaq Composite led gains, up 0.72% to 19,146.81, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged, slipping 89 points, or 0.21%, to 42,051.
This week’s gains have been broad-based, with the Nasdaq up more than 6%, the S&P 500 up over 4%, and the Dow rising nearly 2%. The rally follows a weekend breakthrough in US–China trade talks, where both sides agreed to temporarily slash tariffs—Washington cutting rates to 30%, Beijing to 10%. Markets have embraced the truce as a potential stepping stone toward a broader agreement.
AI chipmakers dominate headlines
Leading the charge were US chip stocks, powered by major deal announcements from the Middle East. Nvidia surged over 4%, closing at US$135.34, after confirming plans to deliver more than 18,000 AI chips to Saudi Arabia’s Humain initiative—part of a broader pledge to supply hundreds of thousands of GPUs over five years.
AMD also rallied, climbing 4.68% to US$117.72 after unveiling a US$6bn share buyback and confirming a US$10bn AI hardware collaboration with the same Saudi-backed platform.
The deals—announced during President Trump’s Gulf tour—reflect the deepening tech-economic ties between US firms and the region. Both Nvidia and AMD are now central players in Saudi Arabia’s AI push under its Vision 2030 plan.
Boeing lands record order
Meanwhile, Boeing shares edged higher after finalising a historic US$96bn deal with Qatar Airways to sell up to 210 aircraft. The agreement, signed in Doha in Trump’s presence, includes 130 Dreamliners and 30 777-9s, with over 400 GE engines in the mix. While politically symbolic, the deal also brings scrutiny, as Qatar separately offered the US a luxury 747 to serve as the next Air Force One—raising fresh constitutional questions.
Commodities and the dollar
WTI crude is trading 0.83% lower at US$63.15 a barrel.
Brent crude is trading 1.19% lower at US$65.84 a barrel.
Spot gold is trading 2.25% lower at US$3177.25 an ounce.
One Australian dollar is buying 64.26 US cents.
Futures
The SPI futures are pointing to a 36 point fall.
