U.S. equity benchmarks advanced on Wednesday as Moderna’s shares surged following a late-stage cancer therapy study update, while data showed U.S. net interest payments reached a record share of gross domestic product.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% to 53,520, the S&P 500 gained 0.4% to 7,724 and the Nasdaq 100 climbed 0.5% to 29,720. Pre-market trading saw Moderna shares jump nearly 100% to $122, the highest level since July 2024, after the company and Merck & Co. reported that their personalized mRNA cancer vaccine, in combination with Merck’s Keytruda, reduced melanoma recurrence rates more than Keytruda alone. Merck’s shares rose 8% in pre-market trade to $146, while BioNTech advanced nearly 16%.
Analog Devices also gained about 1% in pre-market trade after Goldman Sachs upgraded the chipmaker, citing solid quarterly results and a strong outlook. In contrast, Lowe’s shares fell nearly 4% after the home improvement retailer cut its full-year revenue guidance and forecast flat same-store sales, citing weaker consumer spending on large renovations amid higher mortgage rates and soft housing activity. The company now expects adjusted earnings per share of $12.25 for the year, at the lower end of its prior range.
Target shares slipped 1.5% in pre-market trade despite beating second-quarter revenue and profit estimates, with same-store sales up 3.8% versus a 2.5% estimate and adjusted EPS of $4.11 versus a $2.33 forecast. Estee Lauder shares rose nearly 8% after the cosmetics group raised its full-year outlook.
U.S. net interest payments climbed to 3.3% of GDP, the highest level since data collection began, according to Barchart data based on Bloomberg and U.S. government figures. The ratio has risen sharply from about 1.3% in 2021, exceeding previous peaks from the late 1980s and early 1990s, when net interest costs were around 3% of GDP. The metric declined through the 2000s and 2010s before accelerating after 2020.
In Switzerland, the SMI edged up 0.36% to 14,326 points, supported by defensive stocks including Roche, Novartis and Nestlé, which each gained between 0.1% and 0.5%. Geberit led blue-chip gains with a 7.2% advance after reporting first-half results that topped expectations and citing improving conditions in its core European market. Kühne + Nagel and Amrize also gained 1.1% and 0.5%, respectively, while Comet and AMS declined 1.0% and 2.1%.
European pharmaceuticals followed Moderna’s rally, with Lonza up 2.6%, Roche 1.6%, Novartis 1.2% and Skan 5.4%. Novo Nordisk and AstraZeneca also advanced 1.5% and 2.4%, respectively. Geopolitical risks and rising bond yields weighed on semiconductor and technology shares in Asia and earlier in the U.S. session.
European natural gas prices surged to a nine-month high as the front-month TTF contract traded at €64.60 per megawatt-hour in Amsterdam, the highest since mid-March. Prices briefly approached €70 in late February amid the early stages of the Iran conflict, up from around €30 before the war. Brent crude futures remained above $90 per barrel.
Investors awaited the release of the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting minutes after U.S. market close, with the report expected to provide further insight into the central bank’s policy trajectory.
