U.S. equities notched fresh peaks for a second straight session on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 closing at 6,466.58 and the Nasdaq Composite at 21,713.14. The Dow Jones Industrial Average led major benchmarks, jumping 1.04% to 44,922.27, while the rate-sensitive Russell 2000 advanced nearly 2% to a six-month high. Healthcare, materials and consumer-discretionary shares outperformed, offsetting softness in several megacap technology names. The rally followed July consumer-price data that showed inflation rising largely as expected, reinforcing expectations the Federal Reserve will begin easing policy at its 17–18 September meeting. Futures tracked by the CME FedWatch Tool now fully price in a 25-basis-point reduction, and the two-year Treasury yield slipped to about 3.68%. Speculation of a more aggressive move intensified after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said a half-percentage-point cut was possible given recently revised labour-market figures. Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee, meanwhile, signalled the central bank is still assessing how April’s 145% tariff on Chinese goods will feed through to prices before deciding on the pace of easing. Buoyant sentiment spread overseas: the MSCI All Country World Index set a record at 954.21, European shares neared two-week highs and Japan’s Nikkei breached 43,000 for the first time. Bond yields fell across maturities and the dollar weakened against major peers as investors rotated into risk assets ahead of Thursday’s U.S. producer-price report and Friday’s retail-sales data.