Updated 2 min read
US stocks marched higher on Wednesday as Wall Street returned to rally mode while investors digested the latest Federal Reserve minutes to provide hints to future policy amid a shutdown-driven dearth of data.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) led the way higher, up over 1% to close above 23,000 for the first time. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) climbed 0.6% as Wall Street shook off a rare losing day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) lagged, finishing just below the flatline.
Meanwhile, gold (GC=F) futures continued their record-breaking rally after topping $4,000 per ounce for the first time on Tuesday. Investors have piled into the haven asset as a “debasement trade” alternative to the dollar (DX=F).
Markets marched to session highs in afternoon trading following the release of the Federal Reserve’s minutes from its last policy meeting. The minutes signaled more rate cuts could be in play for the rest of 2025 even as they also hinted at steep divisions within the central bank.
“Participants expressed a range of views about the degree to which the current stance of monetary policy was restrictive and about the likely future path of policy. Most judged that it likely would be appropriate to ease policy further over the remainder of this year,” the minutes said.
An air of caution has seeped into the markets this week as questions bubble on the AI trade, with questions on AI spending and a potential dot-com-style bubble. At the same time, the federal stoppage continued to breed uncertainty, with no end to the gridlock in sight as President Trump threatens to withhold back pay for furloughed government workers.
The shutdown, which is now a week old, has deprived Wall Street and the Federal Reserve of the crucial economic data needed to shape their thinking.
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S&P 500, Nasdaq close at records as Fed minutes signal more rate cuts this year, gold surges to new highs
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) was unchanged on Wednesday at the close, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained 0.5% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) moved up nearly 1% to close above 23,000 for the first time.
The move higher came after the Federal Reserve minutes showed nearly half of officials expected three rate cuts this year, one of which was delivered at the policy meeting last month.
Meanwhile, gold (GC=F) futures climbed to record highs above $4,060 on Wednesday, marking a year-to-date gain of 55%.
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Why the bitcoin trade ‘is too large to ignore’
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) and gold (GC=F) climbed to record highs this week, underscoring two sides of the so-called debasement trade as investors hedge against weakening fiat currencies.
Even traditional gold bulls are taking notice of bitcoin’s growing role as “digital gold.”
“The bitcoin trade is too large to ignore,” Paul Karger, Twin Focus co-founder and managing partner, told Yahoo Finance on Wednesday. “Everybody that’s been calling bunk on bitcoin the last decade has been proven wrong.”
Read more here.
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The shutdown is delaying Trump’s farm bailout. Farmers say it won’t be enough even when it happens.
Yahoo Finance’s Ben Werschkul reports:
Read more here.
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Most Fed officials expect central bank to ease rates further
The Fed minutes from September’s FOMC meeting suggested that most participants supported further easing through the rest of 2025.
“Participants expressed a range of views about the degree to which the current stance of monetary policy was restrictive and about the likely future path of policy. Most judged that it likely would be appropriate to ease policy further over the remainder of this year,” the minutes said.
Even as the minutes underscored the emerging divisions within the central bank, the document showed that Fed officials’ sentiment matched expectations from a survey it sends to financial market participants.
“All respondents to the Desk survey expected a 25 basis point cut in the target range for the federal funds rate last month, and around half expected an additional cut at the October meeting,” the minutes read.
“The vast majority of survey respondents expected at least two 25 basis point cuts by year-end, with around half expecting three cuts over that time,” said the minutes published on Wednesday afternoon.
Fed officials voted to lower interest rates by 25 basis points last month, a move opposed by newly appointed Governor Stephan Miran, who had wanted a 50 basis point cut.
The markets jumped to session highs following the release of the Fed minutes.
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Automakers to take $30B tariff hit to profits: Moody’s
Yahoo Finance’s Pras Subramanian reports:
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‘Very speculative, very frothy, very greedy’: Wall Street says stock market’s rise to records poses risks
Yahoo Finance’s Allie Canal reports:
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Dell stock jumps nearly 8%
Dell (DELL) shares rose over 8% Wednesday, adding to their 3.5% gain during the previous trading session as the server maker boosted its long-term financial outlook.
Dell said during an investor event Tuesday that it expects revenue to grow 7% to 9% annually through its 2030 fiscal year, up from its prior range of 3% to 4%. The company forecast that adjusted earnings per share will grow 15% or more yearly during that time frame, up from its prior growth estimate of 8%.
Dell executives pointed to companies’ rising capital expenditures on AI as they invest in infrastructure to power the technology. That infrastructure includes Dell’s servers with Nvidia’s (NVDA) latest GPUs (graphics processing units), or AI chips.
“Hardware is cool again, and we are uniquely positioned, providing opportunities to grow across both data center infrastructure and AI PCs,” said the company’s founder and CEO, Michael Dell.
Wall Street analysts at firms including TD Cowen, JPMorgan (JPM), and Bank of America (BAC) raised their price targets on Dell stock, citing AI momentum.
To be sure, the wave of recent spending on AI is being scrutinized, as analysts debate whether firms — namely, OpenAI (OPAI.PVT) — can live up to their hundreds of billions of dollars in AI infrastructure commitments. At the same time, concerns of circularity in AI investments has fueled further fears of an AI bubble, while the long term financial gains of renting AI servers has been called into question due a new report on the margins of Oracle’s cloud business.
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Gold climbs over $4,000; silver, bitcoin surge as ‘debasement trade’ flight to havens continues
Yahoo Finance’s Ines Ferré reports:
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AI chip stocks rise on swirl of megadeals
AI chip stocks mostly gained on Wednesday amid a flurry of recent AI megadeals.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) shares climbed 4.5% Wednesday morning, adding to a recent upswing after the chipmaker’s multibillion-dollar deal with OpenAI (OPAI.PVT) was unveiled earlier this week. The news was just the latest in a string of massive deals between the ChatGPT-maker and Big Tech firms — for example, OpenAI’s $300 billion deal with Oracle (ORCL) and $100 billion investment from Nvidia (NVDA).
Also on Wednesday, Nvidia shares climbed more than 2% after Bloomberg reported the prior evening that the AI chip giant is investing as much as $2 billion in Elon Musk’s xAI (XAAI.PVT). An Nvidia spokesperson declined to confirm the news to Yahoo Finance.
The hundreds of billions of dollars worth of deals among a small group of interconnected tech giants in the AI market have created concerns over “circularity,” as vendors invest in their own customers and vice versa. Such circularity could make the market seem bigger than it is, analysts say, adding to concerns of an AI bubble.
Other chip stocks also climbed on Wednesday, with Broadcom (AVGO) moving up more than 2% and Micron (MU) gaining over 4%. Qualcomm (QCOM) traded flat.
Meanwhile, Intel (INTC) stock fell nearly 2% after a downgrade from HSBC (HSBC) (see our earlier blog from my colleague Brian Sozzi).
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Stocks rise at the open
US stocks climbed at the market open on Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) turned roughly 0.2% higher, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) moved up nearly 0.3%.
The moves come on the heels of a losing day for the major indexes amid fears over an AI bubble and an ongoing US government shutdown.
Looking ahead, investors are watching for the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s September meeting for further hints at the central bank’s path to lowering interest rates throughout the rest of the year.
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Green stocks are beating world’s biggest trades, even gold
Gold (GC=F) is not the only asset seeing a lift right now. A global benchmark of clean energy stocks is outperforming major indexes — even gold.
Bloomberg news reports:
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Equifax cuts credit score prices as competition with FICO ramps up
The competition among credit score data companies continues to intensify after Fair Isaac’s (FICO) announcement last week that it would begin licensing its FICO scores directly to mortgage lenders.
On Tuesday, Equifax countered by cutting its VantageScore 4.0 mortgage credit score price to $4.50 for two years, undercutting the $10 score FICO is offering for 2026. Additionally, Equifax said it will provide free scores to all mortgage, automotive, card, and consumer finance customers who purchase FICO scores through the end of 2026.
Equifax (EFX) stock rose nearly 3% in premarket trading on Wednesday, while Fair Isaac stock fell over 2%.
“We support Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Pulte’s decision in July to end the 30-year FICO scoring monopoly in the mortgage industry, and believe that the best way to drive change in the marketplace, and to lower costs for consumers and our customers, is through open competition,” Equifax CEO Mark W. Begor said in a statement.
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S&P 500’s torrid rally seen having ‘more fuel left’ from AI, Fed
Bulls expecting the good times to continue when it comes to the S&P 500’s (^GSPC) recent rally have history on their side. The rally has defined the odds, with trade tensions easing, corporate earnings showing signs of resilience and the rising appetite for AI. Experts believe more gains are in store.
Bloomberg News reports:
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Chipmaking equipment stocks fall as US lawmakers consider banning sales to China
Shares of chipmaking equipment manufacturers fell in premarket trading on Wednesday after US lawmakers began calling for broader bans on the tools to China after an investigation found that Chinese chipmakers purchased $38 billion worth of advanced gear last year.
Applied Materials (AMAT) and Lam Research (LRCX) stocks fell 1%, ASML (ASML) dropped 2%, while KLA Corporation (KLAC) ticked up slightly ahead of the opening bell.
Reuters reports:
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Dalio echoes Griffin in seeing gold as safer than the dollar
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Good morning. Here’s what’s happening today.
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Premarket trending tickers: QuantumScape, FedEx, and Nano Nuclear
Here’s a look at some of the top stocks trending in premarket trading:
FedEx (FDX) stock fell 2% before the bell on Wednesday after an SEC filing revealed that Prime Capital Investment advisors sold 4,610 shares in the courier service, lessening its stake.
QuantumScape (QS) stock rose 7% premarket. The company recently partnered with PowerCo SE and showed off its solid-state batteries at the IAA Mobility conference. In addition, QuntumScape and Corning (GLW), a glass ceramics company, announced an agreement to develop ceramic separator manufacturing capabilities for QS solid-state batteries.
Nano Nuclear Energy Inc. (NNE) shares fell 8% in premarket trading on Wednesday after the company, which is focused on developing clean energy solutions, announced it had entered into securities purchase agreements with institutional investors for the purchase and sale of 8,490,767 shares of common stock
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Goldman says we aren’t in a stock market bubble — yet
Big fan of the work from Goldman Sachs strategist Peter Oppenheimer.
So when he posts something today with the headline: “Why we are not in a bubble … yet” it certainly gets my attention.
Here’s how Oppenheimer is thinking through this:
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SoftBank to buy ABB’s robotics business in $5.4 billion deal
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The Fed’s rate debate rages on as central bank flies blind in shutdown
Fed officials are still split about how much to cut interest rates as the government shutdown deprives policymakers of key data, with some worried more about inflation and others more concerned about the job market.
The newest Fed governor appointed by President Trump, Stephen Miran, and Kansas City Fed president Jeff Schmid reflected this division in speeches this week.
Yahoo Finance’s Jennifer Schonberger reports:
