Wall Street ends higher as investors buy AI stocks; Microsoft rallies

Wall Street ends higher as investors buy AI stocks; Microsoft rallies

By Noel Randewich and Johann M Cherian

Fri September 25, 2026  

For a second day the indexes enjoyed a rising trend with the news of a deal reportedly in progress to phase in the Strait of Hormuz and phase out the U.S. economic and port blockades and maybe the war itself. This news very much bolstered the whole tech sector again with resurgent evidence that investors are putting AI on the front burner again with deals being done and AI expenditures boosting demand for capital goods.  

Both tech indexes saw weekly gains from 1 to 2% but crude remains above $100/barrel and the 10-year is up to a fresh 19-year high brushing just short of 5.2%. The odds of an October rate hike today rose to 66%, up from 54% last Friday and 50% a few days ago. Volume was light coming in well below the 16.8 average, closing at 14.9 billion shares traded. 

DJ: 51,349.98  -161.61        NAS: 26,939.37  +3.34         S&P: 7,704.13  -1.90                9/24

DJ: 51,828.62  +478.64       NAS: 27,068.72  +129.34     S&P: 7,743.41  +39.28             9/25

Fri 9-25-26 8:57 pm Wall Street ends higher as investors buy AI stocks; Microsoft rallies | Reuters