Oracle Rockets to Record High on AI Frenzy, Lifts S&P 500 to New Heights

The Oracle Awakening: A Tech Titan Reborn

Something remarkable happened on Wall Street yesterday and no, it wasn’t just another volatile trading session.

Oracle (ORCL | +35.95%) staged one of the most jaw-dropping rallies in recent memory, rocketing 36% to a fresh all-time high of $328.70.

Why the frenzy?

The company, once considered a legacy software player, is now riding the AI wave with unexpected force. Although Oracle narrowly missed analyst revenue estimates ($14.9B vs. $15B expected), investors couldn’t care less.

The real headline: Oracle’s backlog exploded 330% to a staggering $455 billion.

This boost was driven by surging demand for AI cloud infrastructure. Just this summer, Oracle inked a deal with OpenAI for a mind-blowing 4.5 gigawatts of data center capacity, comparable to the energy consumption of several million U.S. homes.

The company also signed four multi-billion dollar contracts in Q1 alone, according to CEO Safra Catz, calling it "a jaw-dropping quarter."

Citi didn’t hold back, calling the rally “significant, but likely still too modest.” They jacked up their price target from $240 to $410 and upgraded Oracle from “hold” to “buy.”

Bloomberg Intelligence added fuel to the fire, noting that Oracle's order book is now four times that of Google Cloud.

Naturally, the ripple effects reached beyond Oracle. CoreWeave (CRWV | +16.88%), a supplier of AI hardware, leapt 17%, while chip giants Nvidia (NVDA | +3.85%) and AMD (AMD | +2.39%) rode the AI coattails.

S&P 500 Sets Fresh Record, Eyes on Inflation

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 edged up 0.3% to close at a new record of 6,532 points.

A drop in U.S. producer prices - down 0.1% versus the expected +0.3% - sparked fresh hopes that the Fed might pivot to rate cuts sooner than expected. Some traders are even pricing in a 50 basis point cut next week.

The Nasdaq held flat, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.5%, proving that even a tech-led rally can’t lift all boats.

Bond yields fell slightly, with the 10-year Treasury retreating 3 basis points to 4.05%. The euro also lost a bit of ground, dipping to 1.1700 against the dollar.

IPO Spotlight: Klarna Pops on Debut

Fintech darling Klarna (KLAR | +14.6%) made its NYSE debut in style, jumping 30% above its IPO price and closing the day with a 14.6% gain.

Investors clearly haven’t lost their appetite for high-growth digital finance plays, at least not when there's a strong brand and narrative behind it.

Winners and Losers: Earnings Roulette

Other individual movers added more texture to the market picture:

• GameStop (GME | +3.31%) surprised with adjusted Q2 earnings of $0.25/share on $972M revenue.

• AeroVironment (AVAV | +6.95%) rallied after doubling its quarterly revenue and raising full-year guidance, boosted by a $240M laser communications order.

• Synopsys (SNPS | -35.84%) tanked after reporting disappointing earnings and a mixed outlook, proof that even chip design royalty isn’t immune to missteps.

• Chewy (CHWY | -16.6%) beat expectations but delivered guidance that left analysts underwhelmed.

• Rubrik (RBRK | -18.05%) beat on revenue and narrowed its loss, but still got punished, possibly a sign that investors are demanding more than just “less bad” from tech.

Oil Heats Up, Geopolitics Lurks

Crude prices jumped 1.7% after headlines pointed to renewed tensions: Trump pressuring China and India, and Israel targeting Hamas in Qatar.

Meanwhile, U.S. oil inventories surprisingly rose, against expectations of a decline.

With inflation data coming in hot today, and geopolitical risk quietly simmering, investors should brace for more volatility.

But if Oracle’s surge is any indication, the market is more than willing to reward big tech names that deliver a compelling AI growth story.

Final Take

Wednesday was a perfect example of how just one company - backed by the AI megatrend - can ignite a market rally. Oracle has officially reinvented itself, and Wall Street is buying it, both figuratively and literally.

Today, all eyes turn to inflation data. If that plays ball, we may see rate cut odds soar, and with them, another leg higher for equities.

Buckle up.

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Kristoff - ChartMill

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