S&P 500 Bounces Back; Dow Largely Sits This One Out

What a difference 24 hours makes. After Wednesday's hawkish Fed surprise sent stocks tumbling, Thursday brought a tech-powered bounce. The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) rose 1%, rebounding from Wednesday's 1.2% decline. The Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) rose 1.5% on bullish semiconductor news. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI)…

What a difference 24 hours makes. After Wednesday's hawkish Fed surprise sent stocks tumbling, Thursday brought a tech-powered bounce.

The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) rose 1%, rebounding from Wednesday's 1.2% decline. The Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) rose 1.5% on bullish semiconductor news. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) lagged significantly, gaining just 0.4% as of 12:38 p.m. ET.

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Tech is back in charge, just before the long Juneteenth holiday weekend.

^IXIC Chart

^IXIC data by YCharts

Why tech stocks are having a field day

Thursday delivered a one-two punch of market-moving news. First, President Trump signed an interim peace deal with Iran at the Palace of Versailles, reopening the Strait of Hormuz for commercial traffic over the next 60 days. Vice President JD Vance reported that 12.5 million barrels of oil had already passed safely through the strait overnight. The United States Oil Fund (NYSEMKT: USO) fell 2.1% on expectations of increased global supply.

Then came the semiconductor surprise. Back from his Iranian agreement, Trump posted on social media that Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) would team up to build chips in America. Neither company has actually confirmed this yet, but the Truth Social post still moved American chip stocks. Intel rocketed 10.4% higher, Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) jumped 7.9%, and Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) tacked on 3.9%.

Image source: Intel.

Space Exploration Technologies (NASDAQ: SPCX) declined 9.9%, erasing Tuesday's gains and ending the recent market entrant's bullish momentum. The stock's decline weighed on the Nasdaq Composite index, which rose 1.5% compared to the Nasdaq-100's 2.4% gain. SpaceX is included in the broader Composite index but not the Nasdaq-100.

On the Dow, Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) contributed 192 points with a 3.3% gain, while IBM (NYSE: IBM) subtracted 81 points after falling 5%. Caterpillar benefits from stabilizing macroeconomic conditions, while IBM's stock followed tech consulting peer Accenture (NYSE: ACN) lower.

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) fell 2.4%. Crypto investors don't seem impressed by Thursday's risk-on mood.

Zooming out from the noise

Wednesday belonged to Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, whose hawkish tone delivered the worst "Fed day" for a new chair since 1994. Thursday belongs to geopolitics and semiconductor dreams. The market's mood can shift fast.