Stocks Hold Near Record as Apple Tops $4 Trillion: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street traders left stocks near record highs amid speculation that artificial intelligence and Federal Reserve rate cuts will keep driving corporate earnings. A slide in gold deepened. Bonds fell.
Following a three-day rally in the S&P 500, the gauge was little changed. While most major groups took a breather after the advance, the cohort of tech megacaps kept powering ahead. Microsoft Corp. gained 3% after finalizing a new agreement in a long-negotiated partnership with and OpenAI. Under the new pact, the software giant will get a 27% ownership stake worth about $135 billion. Apple Inc. topped $4 trillion.
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That’s added to optimism about the industry ahead of results from the two tech giants and three other megacaps this week — Alphabet Inc., Meta Platforms Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.
“This group has repeatedly reassured investors that the AI theme is alive and well, and given the number of deals that have been announced over the past few months, it seems likely that this narrative will continue so long as Wall Street rewards them for this approach,” said Bret Kenwell at eToro.
Aside from earnings, policymakers in Washington will take the spotlight, with a widely anticipated quarter-point reduction from the Fed on Wednesday. Trade headlines also remain in focus, with President Donald Trump’s Thursday sit-down with Chinese President Xi Jinping watched most closely.
“The stock market is getting everything it wants, from a Federal Reserve rate cut to a thawing of US-China trade tensions to continued strength in earnings,” said Paul Stanley at Granite Bay Wealth Management. “While the market’s past few days of gains might be perplexing to some investors, there is justification for this latest melt up in stocks.”
The S&P 500 hovered near 6,875. A gauge of the “Magnificent Seven” megacaps climbed almost 1%, extending a surge from the launch of start of the AI mania in November 2022 to 280%.
Corporate Highlights:
Nvidia Corp.’s three-day artificial intelligence conference called “GTC” began Monday in the US capital, and all eyes will be glued to the keynote address by Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang scheduled for midday Tuesday. While GTC events have been held in Washington before, this is the first one to feature a keynote from the CEO. Amazon.com Inc. plans to eliminate roughly 14,000 corporate jobs just months after Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy warned that AI will shrink the company’s workforce. Intel Corp. Chief Executive Officer Lip-Bu Tan said he is working to “refocus” the beleaguered chip company on engineering after its struggles with complacency and mismanagement. United Parcel Service Inc. smashed Wall Street’s profit expectations by cutting costs and eliminating 34,000 jobs this year. UnitedHealth Group Inc. beat Wall Street expectations for third-quarter earnings and raised its outlook for the year, a sign that the health conglomerate has stabilized after a major meltdown. PayPal Holdings Inc. raised its full-year earnings guidance and announced a tie-up with OpenAI to embed its digital wallet into ChatGPT. Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. plans to make prediction contracts available on its Truth Social network, allowing users to bet on events ranging from political elections to inflation-rate changes, according to a statement on Tuesday. JetBlue Airways Corp. reported a smaller-than-expected loss in the third-quarter helped by lower fuel costs and improved revenue after the carrier discontinued money-losing routes. Eli Lilly & Co. has already produced billions of doses of its next-generation weight-loss pill, anticipating massive global demand ahead of a potential launch next year. D.R. Horton Inc. beat estimates for quarterly home orders as first-time buyers get a lift from falling mortgage rates. Skyworks Solutions Inc. has agreed to buy Qorvo Inc. in a cash and stock deal that values the company at about $10 billion and has the potential to bolster a key part of the US chips supply chain. NXP Semiconductors NV, a provider of chips for automakers and industrial customers, gave a stronger-than-anticipated forecast for the current period, signaling that the company is recovering from sluggish demand and trade war uncertainties. Wayfair Inc. reported net revenue for the third quarter that beat the average analyst estimate. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.’s raised guidance fell short of Wall Street expectations. SoFi Technologies Inc. boosted its adjusted net revenue forecast for the full year. Confluent Inc., a software company, reported third-quarter results that beat expectations and raised its full-year forecast for adjusted earnings. BNP Paribas SA said the takeover of the Axa Investment Managers, completed at the start of July, will lead to combined revenue and cost benefits of around €550 million ($641 million) in four years’ time. Sherwin-Williams Co. reported third-quarter earnings that topped Wall Street expectations, as the paint maker’s cost control measures and pricing power help it navigate a choppy home improvement market. Adani Green Energy Ltd. said its second-quarter profit more than doubled, aided by growing power sales and a tax credit. Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. said profit rose 11.5% in the first nine months of this year, as a stock market rally lifted investment returns and policy sales expanded. Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 was little changed as of 9:51 a.m. New York time The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.3% The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.3% The MSCI World Index was little changed Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index rose 0.7% The Russell 2000 Index fell 0.7% Microsoft rose 2.8% Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1637 The British pound fell 0.6% to $1.3256 The Japanese yen rose 0.4% to 152.23 per dollar Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin rose 0.8% to $115,407.64 Ether rose 0.7% to $4,157.76 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 3.99% Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.62% Britain’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 4.39% The yield on 2-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 3.50% The yield on 30-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.56% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.1% to $60.63 a barrel Spot gold fell 1.2% to $3,933 an ounce ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
