Welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on what's moving and why.
Equities are pushing higher across the board as of early afternoon, with the S&P five hundred up three quarters of a percent, the Nasdaq gaining over one percent, and the Dow approaching forty-nine thousand eight hundred forty. Easing Treasury yields and softer oil prices are doing the heavy lifting, with Nvidia climbing ahead of its earnings report as investors look for fresh guidance on AI spending and demand.
Shifting to the power sector, Constellation Energy and Vistra are rallying sharply after grid operator PJM moved to accelerate data center capacity deals. This is a meaningful admission from one of the country's largest grid operators that existing infrastructure simply cannot keep pace with surging electricity demand driven by artificial intelligence buildout — a tailwind that continues to reshape the entire energy landscape.
Meanwhile on Capitol Hill, the House passed an updated housing affordability bill after stripping out provisions the build-to-rent industry had opposed. The removal of those requirements clears a significant political hurdle and could unlock fresh institutional investment in residential construction, a market that has been starved of supply for the better part of a decade.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
