Key Highlights

● Technology and energy led sector gains.

● Utilities, real estate and consumer staples lagged.

● The rotation was concentrated in a handful of sectors.

● The Fed's hawkish tone contributed to the defensive weakness.

Under the surface of a quiet headline gain, the stock market saw a clear rotation, as money flowed into technology and energy, while defensive sectors such as utilities, real estate and consumer staples lagged. The index rose, but the equal-weight version slipped slightly, a sign that the advance was concentrated in a handful of sectors and large stocks.

Technology was the top-performing sector, powered by semiconductors, with the chip index rising for a fourth straight gain and memory makers leading the charge after South Korea's SK hynix reported a record quarter.

Energy Rode Oil Above $100

Energy was the other leader, with crude settling back above $100 a barrel after Yemen's Houthis claimed an attack on a Saudi refinery, which Riyadh has not confirmed, while refiner Phillips 66 climbed after strong results.

Vertiv Holdings jumped after a quarter in which organic orders more than doubled, and Oracle climbed sharply after its investor day, with one strategist describing Oracle's reassurance as moving the market more than the Fed did.

Defensives Fell Behind

At the bottom of the board were utilities, real estate and consumer staples, with the common thread being interest rates, as long-dated Treasury yields climbed and defensive stocks often behave like bonds, since investors own them for steady income.

The Federal Reserve left its benchmark rate range unchanged in a 10-2 vote, with two officials dissenting in favor of a hike, and investors seemed more focused on AI spending than on monetary policy throughout the session.