U.S. stocks rallied broadly on Thursday, with Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) leading the gains among the Magnificent Seven stocks. The rally was triggered by Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller, who signaled he could support holding the policy rate at its current level if progress toward the 2% inflation goal continues.
Waller stated, "If there is continued progress toward our 2% goal, then I am willing to support holding the policy rate at its current level." This comment caused traders to lower the probability of a September rate hike from approximately 70% to about 50%.
The market responded with a broad-based relief rally, with the most rate-sensitive sectors—software, small caps, and crypto-linked assets—leading the advance. The S&P 500 rose 0.96% to 7,740.14, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 597 points to 53,658.71. The Nasdaq 100 climbed 1.0% to 29,439.78.
Within the technology sector, Tesla jumped 7.4%. Other Magnificent Seven members also posted gains, including Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META), which added 3.8%, and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), which rose 3.3%. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) gained 1.7%.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note eased to 4.75%, down 4 basis points. The dollar index slid to 99, a near two-week low. This dollar weakness contributed to a surge in Bitcoin, which rose 4.6% to about $80,900.
Separately, Nvidia agreed to acquire Hugging Face for $13 billion in a bet on open-source models. However, semiconductor stocks faced pressure, with Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO) falling 4.1% despite posting 221% annual revenue growth.
