Finance

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller indicated his inclination to support keeping interest rates steady at the central bank's upcoming September meeting, provided that incoming inflation figures show continued cooling. His remarks significantly altered market sentiment, lowering the implied probability of an imminent rate increase and relieving pressure on the bond market.

The cryptocurrency market rebounded strongly, with Bitcoin climbing back above the $81,000 threshold and Ethereum posting notable single-day gains. Digital asset values were bolstered by the downward move in global bond yields and optimism surrounding a potential pause in Fed interest rate hikes. This upward momentum also ignited sharp rallies for crypto-focused equities like Robinhood and Coinbase.

Enterprise software and semiconductor providers saw significant volatility following fresh quarterly updates. Snowflake shares surged 17% on better-than-expected financials driven by accelerated artificial intelligence adoption, and Palantir jumped following an expanded corporate alliance. Conversely, chipmaker Broadcom experienced selling pressure as its results failed to outpace high investor expectations, and hardware firm Ciena notched the largest losses on the S&P 500.