US Stock Market

What actually moved today

Big picture: all the major indices were up solidly, with the Nasdaq out front and small caps tagging along.

Tech was the clear engine. The sector jumped more than 2%, and the move wasn’t just one stock: Micron, AMD, and Broadcom all ripped higher, and the AI mega‑caps like Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple and Amazon were firmly green. A brand‑new DRAM ETF crossing $1 billion in just 10 days underlines how intense the hunger is for anything tied to memory and AI hardware.

Breadth was decent rather than euphoric: a bit more than half of stocks rose, and roughly three‑quarters now sit above their short‑term averages. An equal‑weight basket of S&P names climbed too, so this wasn’t purely a “five giant tech stocks” day.

On the flip side, rate‑sensitive and defensive areas lagged. Real estate fell, utilities and industrials were soft, and a popular low‑volatility ETF was down even as the market rallied. High‑beta (more volatile) stocks beat the “steady Eddie” names by a wide margin.

Meanwhile the VIX slipped to the high‑teens, its calmest since March, confirming what the tape felt like: investors are less scared, at least for the moment.

The tension underneath: war, oil and inflation

None of this is happening in a vacuum.