Wall Street and gold print fresh records in broad risk rally

Broad Rally Lifts Dow to Record, Gold Surges

Wall Street extended its record-breaking run on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average touching a fresh all-time high of 54,744 before settling up around 0.9% on the day. The S&P 500 and the small-cap Russell 2000 also tagged fresh intraday highs before fading into the close. The moves follow a strong prior session: on Tuesday, August 4, the S&P 500 climbed 1.8% to a record 7,736.52, while the Dow advanced 907 points, or 1.7%, to a record 54,085.88.

The rally was powered by stronger-than-expected corporate profits, renewed enthusiasm for artificial intelligence, and falling oil prices, which helped ease bond yields. The small-cap Russell 2000 gained 1.8% on Tuesday and is now up 22.4% for the year, compared with 13% for the S&P 500, 12.5% for the Dow, and 14.4% for the Nasdaq.

Gold was also a standout, surging 3.75% to $4,308 on the day, extending its own historic run. Gold has been rising as investors assessed reports of an imminent deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which could ease inflation concerns and lower the likelihood of near-term Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. J.P. Morgan Global Research analysts expect gold to push toward $6,000 per ounce by year end.

Nasdaq Lags as Tech Stocks Split

The Nasdaq was the session's outlier, finishing down 0.5% as mixed moves among major tech names weighed on the index. Google slid 4% and Amazon dropped 2%, while Nvidia jumped more than 4%, highlighting the uneven performance across big-cap technology stocks. The Nasdaq remains about 2% away from its record high set in early June as it recovers from a summer slump.

Elsewhere, $BTC traded near $64,600, up about 1% on the day, broadly in step with the wider risk-on tone across markets. Investors are also navigating the start of Kevin Warsh's tenure as Federal Reserve chairman at the same time that stubborn inflation has prompted bets that the Fed will continue to hold rates steady, or even hike them, in the coming months.

Sources:
CNN Business: The S&P 500 is back at a record high and the Dow just hit 54,000
Forbes: Roaring 20s Rally Rolls On
J.P. Morgan Global Research: Gold Price Predictions for 2026 and 2027