Wall Street Slips, Energy Stocks Surge On Oil Gains: What's Moving Markets Wednesday?

Author: Piero Cingari | September 24, 2025 12:37pm

Wall Street traded lower on Wednesday, extending the previous day's risk-off mood sparked by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's remarks.

At midday in New York, all major indexes were in the red: the S&P 500 slipped 0.3%, the Nasdaq 100 lost 0.5%, and the Russell 2000 fell 0.6%.

FCX is taking a hit from negative sentiment. Get the inside scoop here.

Investors bristled at Powell's comments that further rate cuts are not a given, underscoring a data-dependent stance, while also calling equity markets "fairly highly valued."

Technology stocks led the pullback, while energy shares rallied as oil prices surged more than 2% to nearly $65 a barrel. U.S. crude inventories unexpectedly fell by 0.607 million barrels in the week ending Sept. 19, defying forecasts for an 0.8-million-barrel build. Geopolitical tensions added further support, with NATO vowing a robust response to Russian airspace incursions and Ukrainian drones striking Russian refineries and pipelines.

Commodity-linked equities saw outsized moves. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) dropped more than 14% after a fatal accident at its Indonesian mine forced the company to cut its 2026 production guidance for the third quarter, warning of significant delays.

Copper prices spiked more than 4% on supply concerns, lifting shares of other miners such as Southern Copper Corp. (NYSE:SCCO), which climbed over 7%.

In fixed income, Treasury yields rose about 3 basis points across the curve, with the 10-year benchmark steady near 4.15%. The dollar index rebounded 0.7%, dragging gold and silver down from record highs, with losses of 0.6% and 0.2%, respectively.

In crypto markets, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) advanced 1.5% to $113,700.

Wednesday’s Performance In Major U.S. Indices, ETFs

Major Indices	Price	1-day %chg
• Dow Jones	46,223.14	-0.2%
• S&P 500	6,641.04	-0.3%
• Nasdaq 100	24,472.57	-0.5%
• Russell 2000	2,445.15	-0.6%

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) edged 0.4% lower to $609.25.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) slipped 0.2% to $461.81.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series (NASDAQ:QQQ) dropped 0.5% to $595.00.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) fell 0.4% to $242.82.
• The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) outperformed, up 2.01%; the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLK) lagged, down 1%.

S&P 500’s Top 5 Performers On Wednesday

Stock Name	% Change
CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)	+5.45%
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)	+5.49%
The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS)	+5.21%
EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT)	+4.79%
Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC)	+4.89%

S&P 500’s Top 5 Losers On Wednesday

Stock Name	% Change
Freeport-McMoRan Inc.	-14.87%
Axon Enterprise, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXON)	-7.29%
KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR)	-5.13%
Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNPS)	-4.845%
Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)	-4.37%

Read Now:

• The Fed May Cut Less Than You Think, And That Could Hit Stocks Hard: Oxford Economics

Photo: Shutterstock

Posted In: $BTC AXON CF CNC DIA EQT FCX INTC IWM KKR MOS MU QQQ SCCO SNPS VOO XLB XLE XLK XLV