Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to correct the day referenced in the headline and the first paragraph.

Wall Street traded modestly higher Tuesday, with large-cap benchmarks attempting a fourth straight day of gains as investors looked ahead to a seasonally strong year-end stretch.

By midday in New York, the S&P 500 was up 0.4% near 6,900, hovering within striking distance of last October's all-time highs at 6,920.

The Nasdaq 100 also added 0.4%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.3%. Small caps lagged, with the Russell 2000 down about 0.6%.

The session was shaped by the release of stronger-than-expected U.S. growth data. Gross domestic product expanded at a 4.3% annualized pace in the third quarter, beating estimates near 3.3% and marking the fastest growth rate in two years.

That strength prompted traders to scale back expectations for near-term Federal Reserve easing. Markets now price roughly a 15% probability of a 25-basis-point cut in late January, down from 20% a day earlier. Expectations have narrowed to two cuts in 2026, with June and September seen as the most likely windows.

In single stocks, Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) surged nearly 9%, marking its best session since March 2024. Shares jumped after US regulators approved Wegovy in pill form, the first oral GLP-1 treatment for weight management.

Commodities remained a dominant theme. Precious metals extended a historic rally.

Silver jumped more than 2% to break above $70 an ounce, pushing year-to-date gains to roughly 140%, its strongest year since 1979.

Gold advanced 0.7% to $4,475 an ounce, setting another record high. Platinum surged 5.5% for a ninth straight gain reaching 2008 levels and notching a nearly 150% surge this year – the metal’s best year ever.

Palladium also jumped 5.6%, to levels last seen in October 2022, now up 105% year-to-date. Copper rose about 1.1%, continuing its recovery from late July's sharp selloff.

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) rose 0.31% to $631.69.
• The Invesco QQQ Trust Series (NASDAQ:QQQ) advanced 0.32% to $621.21.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSE:DIA) gained 0.15% to $484.20.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) fell 0.49% to $252.34.
• The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLC) outperformed, up 0.5%; the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLRE) lagged, down 0.4%.

Russell 1000's Top 5 Gainers And Losers On Wednesday

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