Stocks ripped back almost all of Wednesday's hawkish-hike damage as falling oil and a stalled 10-year yield sparked a broad, chip-led buy-the-dip into the close.
The S&P 500 closed up over 1.1% near 7638, the Nasdaq added nearly 1.7% to retake 26,400, and the Dow gained better than 300 points, while the Russell 2000 lagged with a modest advance as rate-sensitive small caps stayed cautious a day after the Fed's first hike in three years lifted the funds rate to 3.75-4%. Crude slid back toward $101 on easing Middle East supply fears, taking pressure off breakevens and letting the 10-year snap its recent losing streak, which was the real engine behind the vol crush — the VIX fell nearly 13% back under 16. Leadership was unmistakably tech and industrial-AI: semis outperformed broadly, with Intel spiking double digits intraday, Micron up mid-single digits on tightening memory supply chatter, and mega-cap AI names Nvidia, Amazon and Microsoft all firm. Political noise added color as the White House publicly needled the Fed over the hike, keeping the rate-path debate in headlines even as futures still price another move by December.
Into tomorrow, the calendar is thin — industrial production and capacity utilization at 9:15am ET is the lone data point — leaving the tape to trade off crude, yields, and whether chip leadership holds without fresh catalysts.
The risk: this is a relief bounce inside a hiking cycle, not a trend reversal — a bid back in oil or a resumed climb in the 10-year unwinds the vol crush fast and puts the rally's gains back in play.