U.S. Stocks Charge Towards Record Highs Amid Global Tensions

The S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones Industrial Average kicked off Wednesday, June 25, with a bang, inching closer to those tantalizing record highs. It's like they're on a mission to make history!

The S&P 500 kicked things off with a 0.2% jump, barely flinching in early trading after hitting 6,100 on Tuesday. The stock market's on fire, folks, with the index soaring to its highest level since February. Bullish sentiment is through the roof, even with all the crazy stuff happening around the world.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average? It was flat after scoring some gains on Tuesday, despite the whole Iran-Israel ceasefire drama. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.2% at the open, with investors betting on potential rate cuts and hoping that Israel and Iran can keep the peace.

S&P 500 eyes record highs

The S&P 500 was up 1.2% on Tuesday, flirting with a new all-time high, just 1% away from making history. It's like the index can smell those record highs, and it's charging full steam ahead. The easing tensions between Iran and Israel, plus reports that Iran isn't trying to mess with the Strait of Hormuz, have everyone feeling good about the market.

With the S&P 500 on the verge of a new rally, the crypto market's also going wild, and oil prices took a nosedive, down 7% to levels we haven't seen since before the whole Israel-Iran situation blew up, including those U.S. attacks on Iran's nuclear sites.

“Markets barely reacted” to the violation of the Donald Trump-brokered ceasefire, according to the analysts at QCP. It's like traders are either expecting peace or just done waiting for it.

Asia Colour - 25 Jun 25

1/ Israel started striking again right after that shaky ceasefire, but the markets? They didn't even blink. Traders are all in on risk, with the Nasdaq 100 hitting record highs and the S&P 500 almost back to its 2020 peak. Oil's also...

Fed chair's comments and tariffs

Jerome Powell's got everyone's attention as he talks to Congress on Wednesday, dishing out the latest on monetary policy. But that's not all, folks - we've got some juicy economic data coming our way. Keep your eyes peeled for the Personal Consumption Expenditures report on Friday, the Fed's favorite way to measure inflation.

Carol Schleif, the chief market strategist at BMO, says investors need to stop obsessing over rate cuts and focus on the real deal: the economic data. In a chat with CNBC on Wednesday, she dropped this truth bomb:

“The obsession with the Fed actually distracts us from looking at the economic data. I’m not sure why the markets are leaning into a cut so much.”

And let's not forget about tariffs, because things could get spicy. Bloomberg's reporting that the European Union's ready to throw down if the U.S. keeps those baseline 10% tariffs in place.