S&P 500, Nasdaq reach all-time closing highs on AI dealmaking boost

S&P 500, Nasdaq reach all-time closing highs on AI dealmaking boost

By Stephen Culp

Mon October 6, 2025 4:20 PM

All the indexes took a shot straight up today putting the S&P and Nasdaq at still new records. The Dow was the exception that took a steep 350-point dive right out the gate but started a recovery as early as 10 a.m. but still never quite made it to breakeven. The shutdown is in its 6^th day and for a 6^th day the markets are shrugging it off, namely due to the impetus of AI, particularly today when chip leader AMD struck a deal with OpenAI that the market liked very much, boosting the chip index by 2.9% and AMD’s stock value by a whopping 23.7%. But, as one expert cautioned, “AI is a wave and waves don’t go on forever; it will eventually crest and decline.  

But where are we in this cycle of the wave? It’s impossible to know.”  There is still the Fed tug-of-war between inflation and job growth, with an October rate cut still a virtual certainty. And in this 6^th day of the shutdown, the main constraint on the markets is the stoppage of all data reporting making it difficult to gauge things. Next week begins Q3 reporting and this is hoped to provide another big boost with the forecast for growth in S&P earnings now at 8.8%, up from 8% in July. At 19.69 billion, volume is still a little ahead of 19.17 average. 

DJ: 46,758.28  +238.56      NAS: 22,780.51  -63.54       S&P: 6,715.79  +0.44        10/3

DJ: 46,694.97  -63.31         NAS: 22,941.67  +161.16    S&P: 6,740.28  +24.49      10/6

Mon 10-6-25 4:20 pm S&P 500, Nasdaq reach all-time closing highs on AI dealmaking boost | Reuters