U.S. stocks opened higher Wednesday as a surprise move by the Treasury Department eased pressure in the bond market, giving the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq a chance to recover from Tuesday’s technology-led selloff.
The Dow rose 120 points, or 0.23%, to 53,463.47 at the opening bell, while the S&P 500 gained 0.32% to 7,716.74. The Nasdaq Composite opened 0.40% higher at 26,393.89. By 9:32 a.m. ET, the Dow was up more than 200 points and the S&P 500 was trading around 7,723.
However, the early S&P 500 bounce quickly faced resistance. The TradingView chart supplied for Wednesday’s session later showed SPX back near 7,698, leaving the index close to an important short-term support area.
Treasury Buybacks Give Wall Street Breathing Room
The catalyst came from the U.S. Treasury, which said it will at least double the size of liquidity-support buybacks for 10- to 30-year securities beginning Sept. 9. The maximum size will rise from $2 billion to at least $4 billion per operation.
That announcement helped longer-dated Treasury prices recover and pushed yields lower after Tuesday’s sharp bond selloff. The 10-year yield had climbed as high as 4.747%, while the 30-year yield reached 5.327%, its highest level since June 2007. Early Wednesday, the 10-year yield had retreated toward 4.70%.
The move matters particularly for technology stocks. Higher yields reduce the present value investors place on future earnings, which contributed to Tuesday’s 1.9% drop in the S&P 500 technology sector and 5% plunge in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.
S&P 500 Tests a Key Support Zone
Wednesday’s 30-minute SPX chart from Alpha Vision (@A_s_h_00) identifies three areas traders are watching: 7,740–7,760, 7,673–7,693 and 7,633–7,657.
S&P 500 Tests 7,673–7,693 Support. Source: Alpha Vision (@A_s_h_00)
With SPX near 7,698 on the supplied chart, the index was sitting just above the second zone. Holding 7,673–7,693 would keep the door open for another attempt at 7,740–7,760. A clean break below 7,673, however, would weaken the intraday structure and put the lower 7,633–7,657 region back in focus.
The chart therefore shows why Wednesday’s opening gain alone is not yet a convincing breakout. Bulls still need to reclaim the upper resistance band rather than simply bounce from support.
Dow Jones Keeps Its Longer-Term Bullish Structure
A monthly Dow chart shared by Sérgio Coelho, CNPI-T presents a much longer-term bullish scenario. Coelho sees a possible Dow target near 65,000, alongside an S&P 500 objective of 9,000–9,500 and a Nasdaq target of 32,000–35,000.
Dow Jones Monthly Chart. Source: Sérgio Coelho, CNPI-T
Still, the Dow’s Wednesday opening level above 53,000 keeps the broader uptrend intact while short-term traders focus on bond yields and monetary policy.
Moderna and Merck Lead Wednesday’s Stock Movers
Healthcare provided one of the session’s biggest corporate stories. Moderna surged after its personalized mRNA cancer therapy, developed with Merck, met key goals in a late-stage melanoma trial. Moderna had jumped about 90% before the bell, while Merck gained 7.5%.
The next major test arrives at 2 p.m. ET, when the Federal Reserve releases minutes from its July 28-29 meeting. The Fed held rates at 3.5% to 3.75% at that meeting, but three policymakers voted for a quarter-point increase, highlighting an unusually visible split over inflation risks.
For the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, falling Treasury yields would support another recovery attempt. But if the Fed minutes revive concerns about tighter policy and yields turn higher again, the SPX support zone around 7,673–7,693 could quickly return to center stage.
