Wall Street closed with mixed results on Wednesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.49% to reach a record high of 54,349. The industrial index added about 263 points with support from Nvidia, while the S&P 500 fell 0.17% to 7,723.43 points, erasing intraday gains and ending a four-day winning streak. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.83% to finish at 26,363.44 points.
SpaceX shares fell 13.6% after the aerospace company founded by Elon Musk reported its first quarterly financial results as a public company. Capital expenditures surged to $18.4 billion in the second quarter, representing a sixfold increase from the same period last year and exceeding analyst estimates. The company directed the majority of those investments toward artificial intelligence projects.
Nvidia gained 3.4% following comments from Musk during the SpaceX earnings call. Musk said Nvidia makes the best artificial intelligence computer and confirmed that SpaceX works exclusively with Nvidia processors to build its artificial intelligence computing infrastructure.
Corporate earnings and market swings
Advanced Micro Devices dropped 7% despite reporting adjusted quarterly earnings that slightly beat Wall Street predictions. Meanwhile, Walt Disney rose 3.65% after its third-quarter financial results surpassed market expectations.
Baird chief investment strategist Ross Mayfield said optimism appeared to have returned to markets. He noted that the intensity of market fluctuations over recent days was historically rare.
Investors also tracked developments in the Middle East and anticipated a potential agreement regarding the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. Energy markets saw oil prices hold nearly unchanged on Wednesday following a significant drop the previous day.
Labor market and services data
Private sector hiring in the United States slowed more than anticipated last month. The monthly ADP survey showed American businesses added 44,000 payrolls in July, down from 98,000 in June and well below the average analyst forecast of 75,000 jobs.
Payroll growth came exclusively from service providers, which added 47,000 positions, while goods-producing companies reduced 3,000 jobs. Annual pay growth remained steady at 4.4% for workers remaining in their roles, while job changers saw a 7% pay increase, marking the largest gain since August 2025.
Economic activity in the US services sector expanded for another month, according to the Institute for Supply Management. The ISM services purchasing managers index rose to 54.1 points in July from 54 points in June, reaching its highest level in nine months, though slightly missing the Wall Street Journal economist poll estimate of 54.5 points. Index values above 50 points indicate economic growth.
The new orders sub-index climbed to 57.2 points, while the employment sub-index returned to contraction territory after just one month of growth. The prices sub-index formed above 70 points for the fourth time in five months, and supplier deliveries continued to indicate slower delivery times.
Steve Miller, chair of the ISM Services Business Survey Committee, said survey respondents continued to mention the impact of tariffs and the Middle East conflict, though far less frequently than in previous reports.
