Wall Street indexes close higher with quarterly and monthly gains even as US government shutdown looms

Wall Street indexes close higher with quarterly and monthly gains even as US government shutdown looms

By Sinéad Carew and Niket Nishant

Tue September 30, 2025 4:59 PM  

It was a mixed bag today with all of the indexes spending most of the day in the red before rallying around 1:30 to regain all the lost ground and even close modestly up. But to end Q3, it was almost all upbeat news with the S&P and Dow with five straight monthly gains and the Dow and Nasdaq with two quarters of gains. The Dow was down some 200 twice during the session but the others stayed pretty close to the vest until 1:30. Although yesterday’s trading indicated that investors weren’t particularly concerned about tonight’s potential shutdown, today sentiment changed with more serious concerns that this particular shutdown could cause considerable damage to the economy.  

Wall Street indexes climb as investors brush off government shutdown uncertainties

Wall Street indexes climb as investors brush off government shutdown uncertainties

By Sinéad Carew and Niket Nishant

Mon September 29, 2025 4:42 PM

After last Wednesday’s good real estate report and Friday’s good PCE, investor sentiment has suddenly shifted with investors largely shrugging off the upcoming obstacles – an upcoming government shutdown and doubts about more rate cuts. Today’s attitude was that there won’t be a shutdown and that, despite the cautionary notes re inflation, there will be another rate cut in November, the odds now priced at 89%, and this optimism pushed the indexes modestly higher. AI once again ruled the day, with a 3-digit increase in the Nasdaq.  

Wall Street ends higher after as-expected inflation data; S&P 500, Nasdaq post weekly declines

Wall Street ends higher after as-expected inflation data; S&P 500, Nasdaq post weekly declines

By Caroline Valetkevitch

Fri September 26, 2025 6:42 PM

The indexes got a nice little boost today, after two days of cautionary selling, when the PCE report came in with an annualized 2.7% increase in prices, exactly in line with expectations. The better news was an unexpected and welcome increase in personal income and consumer spending. The Dow gained almost 300, the Nasdaq 100. Despite the good news, after three weeks of gains, all indexes showed losses for the week, but only modestly, averaging less than ½ of 1%.  

Wall Street indexes finish lower, data raises uncertainty for rate-cut outlook

Wall Street indexes finish lower, data raises uncertainty for rate-cut outlook

By Caroline Valetkevitch

Thu September 25, 2025 5:18 PM

With the new uncertainty of the past couple of days of whether the Fed will do any more rate cuts this year, the markets once again went south, though some experts attribute this to yet another day of simply trimming back on overblown valuations. The good news is that unemployment claims are down modestly but other reports show that the economy has continued to grow and even more than expected which is bad news on the inflation front. 

Equities end lower as valuation concerns creep in​

Equities end lower as valuation concerns creep in​

By Chuck Mikolajczak

Wed September 24, 2025 6:14 PM

Something happened at 11 a.m. that sent the whole market into a tailspin, the Dow into a 3-digit loss and the Nasdaq not much better. The likely trigger was yet again Powell who made the comment, oft presented previously but now just in case you don’t believe me -- valuations are way too high and that more rate cuts would only make them go higher. All the indexes have seen record highs in recent days and the S&P alone is trading at multiples of 23-24, numbers not seen in years, with projected annualized earnings growth of 15% over the next five years.

Wall Street indexes end lower as investors digest Powell comments

Wall Street indexes end lower as investors digest Powell comments

By Caroline Valetkevitch

Tue September 23, 2025 4:02 PM

The market was ripe for a pullback and Powell provided the trigger when he reiterated the Fed positions stated yesterday that the central bank needs to get back to focusing on inflation. Offering no further clues on future rate cuts left investors to interpret the comments that there might not be. That combined with profit-taking from Nvidia that lost 2.8% today after yesterday’s big jump and tech had nowhere to go but down, down by 3-digits. Powell also emphasized how highly valued equities are, another hint that we’re ripe for a pullback, especially after all the recent record highs. Volume remained brisk at 18.9 billion, above the 17.6 average. 

DJ: 46,381.54  +66.27       NAS: 22,788.98  +157.50     S&P: 6,693.75  +29.39        9/22

DJ: 46,292.78  -88.76        NAS: 22,573.47  -215.50      S&P: 6,656.92  -36.83         9/23

Tue 9-23-25 4:02 pm Wall Street indexes end lower as investors digest Powell comments | Reuters

Wall St indexes post record closing highs again, with Nvidia, tech shares higher

Wall St indexes post record closing highs again, with Nvidia, tech shares higher

By Caroline Valetkevitch

Mon September 22, 2025 4:00 PM  

It was another shot straight, especially for tech, as all three indexes once again achieve new record highs. This was despite the fact that several Fed governors went on the record today stating that the single rate cut would be sufficient and there shouldn’t be any more, exactly the opposite of market sentiment. But the real boost came from Nvidia committing to a $100B investment in OpenAI. There are worries about Trump’s new visa fees which are very opposed by the tech giants. There is also concern about the high market valuations and that “markets appear to be kind of ignoring potential headwinds.” Per the CBOE, volume ran at 18.6 billion, above the 17.4 average.  

DJ: 46,315.27  +172.85      NAS: 22,631.48  +160.75      S&P: 6,664.36  +32.40       9/19

DJ: 46,381.54  +66.27        NAS: 22,788.98  +157.50      S&P: 6,693.75  +29.39       9/22

Mon 9-22-25 4:00 pm Wall St indexes post record closing highs again, with Nvidia, tech shares higher | Reuters

Wall St closes higher with indexes notching weekly gains

Wall St closes higher with indexes notching weekly gains

By Abigail Summerville and Purvi Agarwal

Fri September 19, 2025 4:36 PM  

For the third day after the rate cut, investors continued digesting the news and its implications and after some initial hesitation from around 10 – 11:30, sentiment changed to feeling good about the Fed changing the inflation target and heating things up a little more would be good for stocks. That started another wave of buying that had the Dow and Nasdaq in nice 3-digit gains again. Additionally, there was the sentiment that small caps move inversely to rates so those stocks will benefit disproportionately from the rest of the market to this rate cut.  

Wall Street indexes notch record-high closes as Intel soars on Nvidia stake

Wall Street indexes notch record-high closes as Intel soars on Nvidia stake

By Abigail Summerville and Sukriti Gupta

Thu September 18, 2025 4:25 PM

On the day following the long awaited ¼ point rate cut, investors have begun digesting the good news and its long-term implications and shot all the indexes up substantially, both the Dow and Nasdaq into 3-digits again. Also boosting the market was the $5B stake Nvidia has made in Intel, shooting the entire chip index up 3.6% and the S&P tech index 1.36%.  It was one very good up day but, as today’s expert noted, “We are looking for support for economic growth and justification of stretched valuations and the prospect of lower interest rate helps that.” Yes, it helps, but time will tell. Volume again was considerably elevated, coming in at 19.3 billion vs 16.67 average.  

DJ: 46,018.32  +260.42      NAS: 22,261.33  -72.63       S&P: 6,600.35  -6.41        9/17

DJ: 46,142.42  +124.10      NAS: 22,470.73  +209.40    S&P: 6,631.96  +31.61     9/18

Thu 9-18-25 4:25 pm Wall Street indexes notch record-high closes as Intel soars on Nvidia stake | Reuters

Wall Street ends mixed, trade choppy after Fed's rate cut, outlook

Wall Street ends mixed, trade choppy after Fed's rate cut, outlook

By Abigail Summerville and Purvi Agarwal

Wed September 17, 2025 4:48 PM  

The market not only got everything it was hoping for but then some, with the ¼ point cut certainly now done but also a fairly direct statement from Powell that there would likely be two more cuts before year-end, which was the ideal that was hoped for. But since the ¼ point cut was already priced in, there wasn’t much to move the needle so at least tech stayed close to flat most of the session with monies flowing back to the Dow and boosting it 250+ points. But then everything went nuts right at 2 pm, first way up (the Dow over 500), then way down until 3 pm (the Dow losing 550+), then way up again in the next that hour to close at +260. What’s going on?

Wall St ends lower as investors turn cautious ahead of Fed rate decision

Wall St ends lower as investors turn cautious ahead of Fed rate decision

By Abigail Summerville and Sukriti Gupta

Tue September 16, 2025 4:33 PM

As is often the case on the eve of a major event, even when the days leading up had big optimistic rallies, the markets decided to turn cautious today to hedge bets in the unlikely event that they don’t get the desired news tomorrow. All three indexes spent almost all day in the red, the Dow down more than 200 at 10 a.m., but tech stayed relatively flat and closed near flat, which makes sense for a day waiting at the starting gate. Since a rate cut will benefit mostly tech, it also makes sense that money was moving out of industrials.  

Wall Street indexes end higher ahead of Fed meeting; Tesla and Alphabet rally

Wall Street indexes end higher ahead of Fed meeting; Tesla and Alphabet rally

By Abigail Summerville and Ragini Mathur

Mon September 15, 2025  4:47 PM

The Dow had a rough and tumble day skirting back and forth between black and red but mostly close to break-even and still closing with a modest gain. The S&P and Nasdaq both had terrific days zooming right up at open and staying there all day, all on the eve of the September Fed meeting during which there is a huge expectation of a rate cut. But it’s not that simple as per today’s expert, “The market is counting on sort of a goldilocks scenario where the employment market is just weak enough to prompt the Federal Reserve to start a rate cutting series, not just one, without disrupting overall growth. The markets will be disappointed if the Fed doesn’t give some hint that they intend to continue rate cuts.” In a couple of days, we’ll know. Meanwhile, the hot anticipation is reflected in today’s volume which came in at 17.68 billion, above the 16.2 billion average. 

DJ: 45,834.22  -273.78      NAS: 22,141.10  +98.03      S&P: 6,584.29  -3.18         9/12

DJ: 45,883.45  +49.23       NAS: 22,348.75  +207.65    S&P: 6,615.28  +30.99      9/15

Mon 9-15-25 4:47 pm Wall Street indexes end higher ahead of Fed meeting; Tesla and Alphabet rally | Reuters

Nasdaq notches record high close, traders look to Fed meeting

Nasdaq notches record high close, traders look to Fed meeting

By Noel Randewich and Ragini Mathur

Fri September 12, 2025  4:23 PM

After yesterday’s big rally, investors took a breath today with profit-takers hitting industrials and tech getting yet another boost with the Nasdaq hitting yet another record. With strong evidence now that the job market has been weakening for some time, the bets are now for three more rate cuts before year-end, starting with next week. This was further bolstered today with U of M Consumer Sentiment falling for the second straight month.  

Wall Street indexes post record-high closes; Tesla and Micron rally

Wall Street indexes post record-high closes; Tesla and Micron rally

By Noel Randewich and Purvi Agarwal

Thu September 11, 2025 6:19 PM

All three indexes zoomed straight up right out the gate and stayed there all day, posting strong 3-digit gains. All three indexes registered record highs, even the Dow this time with a jump of a huge 617 points. As I suggested yesterday, it seems that whatever the reports said vis-à-vis inflation was going to be taken as good news. Yesterday, PPI showing inflation cooling caused a rally and today CPI showing inflation getting hotter caused an even bigger rally.  

S&P 500 and Nasdaq notch record-high closes as Oracle soars on AI optimism

S&P 500 and Nasdaq notch record-high closes as Oracle soars on AI optimism

By Noel Randewich and Ragini Mathur

Wed September 10, 2025 4:40 PM

Well, the PPI report came in great showing inflation cooling off more than expected, immediately sending tech way up and the Dow way down, though almost immediately both tech indexes started a decline that led to losing almost all gains by close but still closing modestly up. Yesterday the consensus seemed to be for inflation to be up which would hurt the labor market even more so the Fed would be motivated to cut rates. Today, with inflation being down, everyone is happy since the cooling is what the Fed needs to cut rates.  

Wall Street indexes notch record high closes, investors bet rate cut

Wall Street indexes notch record high closes, investors bet rate cut

By Noel Randewich

Tue September 9, 2025 5:35 PM

The exuberant optimism over the expected rate cut next week extended into yet another day today as all three indexes once again climbed, the Dow a second day at 3-digits, in fact all three registering new records at close. Complementing this was a new report today sharply reducing the number of jobs for the 12 months from March 2024 down 911,000 which suggests the job market began weakening last year.  

Nasdaq notches record high close; traders focus on rate cuts

Nasdaq notches record high close; traders focus on rate cuts

By Noel Randewich and Purvi Agarwal

Mon September 8, 2025 4:51 PM  

It was a rocky day but at least all three indexes did close in the green with the Nasdaq posting a new record and the Dow gaining 3-digits. This is all in hot anticipation of the expected rate cut coming next week. In fact, confidence is so high that the odds are now betting on three cuts before year-end, and even some bets that next week’s cut will be ½ point, though many analysts don’t buy this. There does seem to be a consensus that the Fed is no longer interested so much in inflation as in the weakening labor market. Inflation is being written off as tariff-related and therefore temporary and not as important regarding policy. The S&P is up 10% for the year, the Nasdaq 13%. At 16.2, volume is just a tad above the 16.1 billion average. 

DJ: 45,400.86  -220.43      NAS: 21,700.39  -7.31        S&P: 6,481.50  -20.58          9/5

DJ: 45,514.95  +114.09     NAS: 21,798.70  +98.31     S&P: 6,495.15  +13.65         9/8

Mon 9-8-25 4:51 pm Nasdaq notches record high close; traders focus on rate cuts | Reuters

Wall Street indexes end lower as jobs data fuels economic worries

Wall Street indexes end lower as jobs data fuels economic worries

By Caroline Valetkevitch

Fri September 5, 2025 6:24 PM

It was another day of panic as investors played another game of tug-of-war debating the pros and cons between a softening job market virtually guaranteeing a rate cut and a softening job market hurting the economy. The latter half sort of won out as the indexes, after briefly breaking new records in the first half hour almost immediately began sinking seriously into the red until having an 11^th hour recovery for at least the S&P and Nasdaq to close near even. The Dow didn’t do as well but still managed to recover from a 400 point loss to close at half that. The trigger of course was a badly disappointing jobs report which came in a whopping 70% lower than forecast.  

S&P 500 registers record-high close as data keeps rate cut views intact

S&P 500 registers record-high close as data keeps rate cut views intact

By Caroline Valetkevitch

Thu September 4, 2025 4:55 PM  

All three indexes enjoyed a big triple-digit shot straight up today as labor market data ahead of Friday’s big labor report showed unemployment rising with hiring slowing, exactly the conditions that will ripen the Fed to do that much anticipated rate cut on 9/17. The odds today stand at a virtual certain 95%. The excitement was enough to send the S&P to still another record high and Powell has already indicated that, unless Friday’s report is “really, really out of bounds,” that rate cut is coming. Tomorrow may well tell the story of whether yesterday’s expert was right in predicting that our usual down Septembers will be avoided because of this cut. Volume ahead of the report was again modestly muted at 14.68 vs the average of 16.07 billion. 

DJ: 45,271.23  -24.58       NAS: 21,497.73  +218.10     S&P: 6,448.26  +32.72       9/3

DJ: 45,621.29  +350.06    NAS: 21,707.69  +209.97     S&P: 6,502.08  +53.82       9/4

Thu 9-4-25 4:55 pm S&P 500 registers record-high close as data keeps rate cut views intact | Reuters

Nasdaq, S&P 500 end higher with Alphabet, Apple, rate-cut hopes; Dow dips

Nasdaq, S&P 500 end higher with Alphabet,

Apple, rate-cut hopes; Dow dips

By Caroline Valetkevitch

September 3, 2025  4:52 PM 

Today’s good news was the court ruling that Google could not be broken up, thereby assuring investors of not only protection for Google’s industry position but also Apple’s for the business it does with Google, specifically lucrative payments to the iPhone maker. That added to the now 96% odds for a rate cut on 9/17 and tech had a very good day, zooming up 3-digits on the Nasdaq. The Dow had a reversal of fortune which often happens on tech’s good days, dropping as low as a 300 point loss as late as 3:30 before zooming back up to near break-even.  

Wall Street ends lower as ruling on Trump tariffs raises concerns

Wall Street ends lower as ruling on Trump tariffs raises concerns

By Caroline Valetkevitch

Tue September 2, 2025 6:55 PM

It was not a good day. If there’s one thing the market doesn’t like it’s uncertainty and this weekend’s appeals court ruling striking down most of Trump’s tariffs have introduced a whole new layer of uncertainty into the equation. Questions abound – will this ruling stand and trigger another big correction or be overturned by a higher court in which case we’re back where we started? Does the ruling mean that Trump has alienated our trading partners? All this caused massive disruption, with the Dow down 600 points at open, and bouncing around all day to close at a 249 point loss, with the other indexes following an almost identical pattern.