Market Highlights

US stocks ended Wednesday’s session higher, notching a new record and seemingly shrugging off the firstgovernment shutdown in nearly seven years. Treasuries rallied after private payrolls data reinforced bets that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates later this month. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 rose for a fourth consecutive session. On Wednesday, the former was boosted by the health-care sector on optimism stemming from Pfizer Inc.’s deal with the White House. Tech names like Tesla Inc. and Nvidia Corp. also helped push the index 0.3% higher for the day. The 10-year Treasury yield touched 4.08% before hovering around 4.10%. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index held steady. Gold reached a fresh all-time high

US equities notched a second straight quarter of gains even as stock moves were tepid for most of Tuesday’s session as the US government nears a shutdown. The S&P 500 ended the day 0.4% higher after oscillating between small gains and losses for hours. The index had its best September in 15 years, fueled by optimism over artificial intelligence and lower rates. Treasuries gained for the third consecutive quarter. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed for the month. Oil slipped in a choppy day of trading as OPEC+ considers boosting the pace of future output hikes.

Stocks posted modest gains on Monday as concerns mounted about a looming US government shutdown possibly delaying the release of key labor-market data that could provide clues about how fast the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates. Treasury yields fell across the curve. The S&P 500 ended the session 0.3% higher. The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.4% after climbing nearly 1% earlier. The Bloomberg dollar index pared earlier losses after pending home sales for August jumped to the highest level in fivemonths. The US Treasury 10-year yield declined to 4.14% — shutdowns are typically associated with gains for bonds because of their potential to restrain the economy. Gold, a safe-haven asset, hit a record

Technology firmswith vast funding needs to pay for their AI ambitions are striking blockbuster debt deals at the fastest pace in years, taking advantage of near—insatiable investor appetite to lock in financingfor initiatives whose ultimate payoff remains uncertain. Borrowers are tapping all corners of credit and findingready buyers. In the US public bond markets alone, tech companies have raised about $157 billion so far this year, up some 70% from what they issued in the same period last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Oracle has led the way, with nearly $26 billion of publicly traded debt sold, much of it in a blockbuster offerring on Wednesday as it gears up to spend billions to rent data centers and fill them up with Nvidia Corp. chips for artificial intelligence customers like OpenAI.

Wall Street’s torrid surge from April’s meltdown is showing signs of exhaustion as stock traders await fresh catalysts amid risks stemming from a labor-market slowdown to sticky inflation. While the S&P 500 has defied September’s gloomy reputation as the worst month for equity returns, the gauge failed to gain traction on Wednesday. The market ebullience saw the index notching almost 30 records in 2025, eclipsing the average year-end analyst forecast and spurring calls for consolidation. US equity-index futures steadied after signs of fatigue in the AI-driven rally caused two days of declines on Wall Street

Wall Street traders drove stocks down from all-time highs, with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell offering no hints on whether he might support a rate cut at the central bank’s October meeting. Bonds held gains. Following a series of records, equities took a breather amid a slide in big tech. Powell said the outlooks for the labor market and inflation face risks, reiterating his view that policymakers likely have a difficult road ahead as they weigh further interest-rate cuts. US stocks are set to resume their rally as the combination of a pledge for more spending by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and an upbeat forecast from Micron Technology Inc. reinforced optimism over artificial intelligence.

Wall Street traders defied calls for a breather after a $15 trillion stock rally from April lows, with Nvidia Corp. boosting optimism on artificial intelligence after pledging to invest as much as $100 billion in OpenAI. Tech led gains in the S&P 500, with the US equity benchmark hitting its 28th record this year. The world’s largest chipmaker rallied about 4%. Its investment is intended to help OpenAI build data centers with a capacity of 10 gigawatts of power using Nvidia’s advanced AI chips to train and deploy OpenAI’s models. Asian equities came off session highs, swinging between modest gains and losses after benchmarks in Hong Kong and mainland China retreated.

Wall Street closed out the highly anticipated Federal Reserve week with stocks notching fresh all- time highs as prospects for more rate cuts bolstered the outlook for corporate earnings. While calls for a temporary breather have emerged after an almost $15 trillion rally in the S&P 500 from its April lows, bullish sentiment has prevailed. That was after Fed officials resumed monetary policy easing at a time when the economy is still growing, sending a constructive signal for risk takers. Asian shares rose following a Wall Street rally, with Japanese equities advancing after concerns about the Bank of Japan’s plan to offload its massive exchange-traded fund holdings eased.

Wall Street’s bets that Federal Reserve rate cuts will keep powering Corporate America drove stocks to all-time highs, with traders piling into the riskier corners of the market. A day after the Fed deployed its firstreduction this year and signaled the potential for more saw a rally that lifted the S&P 500, the Nasdaq 100, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Russell 2000 to records. It’s the firsttime since November 2021 that all four major benchmarks closed together at fresh highs. And it’s a rare feat too, occurring on just 25 other days this century. A record-breaking global stock rally hit a speed bump after the Bank of Japan’s decision to begin selling its massive exchange-traded fund holdings dragged Asian shares lower.

Wall Street emerged largely unshaken from a high-stakes Federal Reserve meeting, as policymakers delivered a well-telegraphed rate cut that elicited muted moves across markets. The announcement was followed by Jerome Powell’s remarks, underscoring the tension between the Fed’s two mandates that suggested “there’s no risk-free path” ahead. After briefly rising, the S&P 500 fell by a mere 0.1%, weighed down by tech. Bonds saw small losses. It was the seventh straight time the dollar rose on a Fed day, the longest such winning streak since 2001. The reaction reflected a central bank striking a temperate posture — acknowledging cooling in the labor market and signaling it will remain data-dependent amid price risks.