The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) and the Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) closed with solid gains on Wednesday. In addition, both ETFs have clawed back their losses from earlier this week as investors digested positive labor market and services data.
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- ADP announced that private employers added 63,000 jobs in February, the most since July 2025 and topping the estimate of 50,000.
- The ISM Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) jumped to 56.1 in February, marking the highest level since July 2022 and above the estimate of 53.8.
- President Trump officially nominated Kevin Warsh to replace Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Trump will raise the global tariff rate to 15% from 10% “likely sometime this week.”
- Apple (AAPL) introduced the MacBook Neo, its most affordable laptop yet with a starting price tag of $599. On Tuesday, the tech giant announced new MacBook Pro and Air models equipped with M5 chips.
- At the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference, Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang said that the company’s $30 billion investment in OpenAI will likely be its last.
- Wells Fargo analyst Aaron Rakers said the firm is a buyer of NVDA ahead of its GTC 2026 event from March 16‑19.
- Tesla (TSLA) closed higher after Bank of America upgraded TSLA stock to “buy” from “hold” with a price target of $460.
Today’s Best-Performing Sector
Consumer discretionary was the best-performing sector on Wednesday, driven by easing inflation concerns stemming from falling energy prices. In addition, the sector tends to benefit when the stock market rises, which creates wealth for consumers and encourages spending. Upbeat private employment and services data also contributed to the rise.
Several consumer discretionary stocks led the sector’s gains, including:
Today’s Worst-Performing Sector
Meanwhile, energy was the worst-performing sector as oil prices stabilized for the first time this week. At the same time, it’s still the best performing sector year-to-date with a return of 25%.
On Tuesday, Trump directed the Development Finance Corporation to provide political risk insurance and financial security guarantees for ships crossing through the Persian Gulf, easing fears of oil supply disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. He also weighed sending U.S. naval escorts for oil and gas tankers in the passage.
Notable energy stocks trading lower include: