S&P 500, Nasdaq End at Record Highs as Stocks Rebound; Gold Surges Further Past $4,000

Noteworthy S&P 500 Movers on Wednesday

9 hr 56 min ago

Advancers

• Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) shares posted the day’s best performance in the S&P 500 index with an 11% jump, extending their winning streak following the announcement of a partnership with OpenAI. A slew of analysts have raised their price targets for AMD this week, with Jefferies upgrading its rating to “buy” from “hold.”
• Dell Technologies (DELL) shares surged 9.1%, after the server maker raised its outlook, citing strong demand driven by the buildout of AI infrastructure. CEO Michael Dell said the company’s broad portfolio of tech products makes it well positioned to provide the compute, storage, and network capacity necessary to deploy AI at scale.
• Optimism around AI helped boost other companies with exposure to the burgeoning technology as well. Shares of AI chip leader Nvidia (NVDA) rose 2.2% after CEO Jensen Huang said in a televised interview with CNBC that AI demand is up “substantially” this year, and that he expects it to keep growing.

Decliners

• Equifax (EFX) announced it will provide its VantageScore 4.0 credit scores at a reduced price or free to customers, just days after Fair Isaac (FICO) said last week that it would offer its FICO credit scores directly to firms that provide credit reports to lenders, reducing reliance on Equifax and the other nationwide credit bureaus. Fair Isaac shares dropped 9.8%, losing the most of any S&P 500 stock Wednesday and reversing a portion of the gains posted after last week’s announcement, while Equifax shares advanced close to 1%.
• Live Nation (LYV) shares fell 3.5% after the Ticketmaster parent announced a plan to offer $1.3 billion in convertible senior notes maturing in 2031. The live entertainment company intends to use the proceeds of the transaction to redeem senior notes due in 2026, repay other debt, and for general corporate purposes.

–Michael Bromberg

Technology Is Top-Performing S&P 500 Sector Wednesday

11 hr 33 min ago

The S&P 500 set new intraday and closing highs Wednesday. Technology shares powered the records.

The S&P 500 Information Technology Sector was the best performer of the 11 industries tracked by the benchmark index, with a 1.4% rise.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Dell Technologies (DELL), and Arista Networks (ANET) were the top-performing individual stocks, surging 11.4%, 9.1%, and 8.3%, respectively.

Arista Networks Stock Hits All-Time High

12 hr 37 min ago

Shares of Arista Networks (ANET) surged Wednesday to reach an all-time high of $158.51.

Although the computer networking firm did not appear to issue any press releases or regulatory findings today, shares jumped 8% for the third-best performance in the benchmark S&P 500.

Arista Networks stock has gained 42% this year, easily outpacing the S&P 500’s roughly 15% advance.

Nvidia’s Jensen Huang Says AI Demand Is Up ‘Substantially’ This Year, and Still Growing

12 hr 58 min ago

Demand for artificial intelligence is booming and only just getting started, according to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

“This year, particularly the last six months, demand of computing has gone up substantially,” the CEO told CNBC in a televised interview Wednesday, adding that that he believes the AI boom is still in its early stages, leaving room for further growth.

Shares of Nvidia (NVDA) were up 2% in recent trading, contributing to a rally in the tech sector. The chipmaker at the heart of the AI boom has seen its stock climb roughly 40% so far in 2025 as sales of its chips to power data centers surged and trade policy headwinds eased. Its move this year has helped propel Nvidia into the top spot as the world’s most valuable public company, and made its CEO one of the richest people in the world.

Shares of Nvidia partners such as Micron Technology (MU) and Super Micro Computer (SMCI) also climbed Wednesday, adding to gains earlier in the week on a massive OpenAI deal with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), which also collaborates with the companies. AMD’s deal came just weeks after Nvidia announced its own deal with OpenAI.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a social media post Monday that the startup views its AMD deal as incremental to the ChatGPT maker’s work with Nvidia, and that “the world needs much more compute.” The move raised speculation more high-profile partnerships could be in the works, affecting a growing number of companies, with several Wall Street analysts likening the signal of strong demand for AI to a rising tide that lifts all boats.

Read the full article here.

–Kara Greenberg

IBM Is Worst-Performing Stock in Dow One Day After Leading Blue-Chip Index

13 hr 48 min ago

One day after IBM (IBM) was the best-performing stock in the Dow, it took a sharp turn for the worse.

IBM stock fell 2.5% in recent trading and was the biggest decliner in the blue-chip index, one day after it gained 1.5% to lead the Dow on news it was partnering with Anthropic to integrate the AI firm’s Claude large language model into its enterprise software.

Despite today’s declines, IBM shares have gained about 30% this year, easily outpacing the Dow’s 10% advance.

Equifax Fires Back at Fair Isaac’s Move to Bypass Credit Bureaus

14 hr 24 min ago

A price war is now underway in the credit score industry.

Equifax (EFX) has responded to a move by score provider Fair Isaac (FICO) by slashing the cost for the information to its customers, news that sent Equifax shares up on Wednesday.

Fair Isaac announced last week it would make its data available directly to firms that provide credit scores to mortgage lenders, effectively bypassing Equifax and rivals TransUnion (TRU) and Experian. Shares of Equifax and TransUnion tumbled on last week’s news, while those of Fair Isaac jumped.

Now, Equifax said it will offer its VantageScore 4.0 mortgage credit scores at a lower rate of $4.50 through the end of 2027 and free VantageScore 4.0 scores “to all Equifax customers in mortgage, automotive, card and consumer finance who purchase FICO scores for the remainder of 2025 and throughout 2026.”

CEO Mark Begor accused Fair Isaac of being a “monopoly in the mortgage industry,” and argued that the “best way to drive change in the marketplace, and to lower costs for consumers and our customers, is through open competition.” 

Fair Isaac did not respond to Investopedia’s request for comment in time for publication.

Equifax shares were up nearly 2% in early-afternoon trading, while Fair Isaac shares dropped 9%.

–Bill McColl

Dell Stock Pops for Second Straight Day on ‘Massive’ AI Opportunity

14 hr 47 min ago

Investors’ positive response to news from Dell Technologies (DELL) didn’t stop at one day.

Dell stock surged nearly 7% in recent trading, giving it a two-day rise of roughly 11% after the maker of computers and AI servers lifted its long-term outlook andsaid it sees a “massive” opportunity ahead from AI.

Dell was the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 early Wednesday afternoon. Shares have gained about 40% this year.

Rocket Lab’s Shares Lift on New Multi-Mission Satellite Launch Deals

15 hr 18 min ago

Shares of Rocket Lab (RKLB) traded at a record high when the satellite launch provider announced details about several planned missions.

The company said it just signed another multi-launch contract with Japanese satellite manufacturing and operating firm Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space (iQPS) to deploy iQPS’s commercial Earth-imaging constellation.

The three trips by Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket, planned for no earlier than next year, were in addition to a previous deal with iQPS for four missions.

Rocket Lab also announced the launch window for its next flight for another Japan-based satellite firm, Synspective. It said the “Owl New World” mission will blast off from Rocket Lab’s New Zealand launch site on Oct. 14 or 15.2

That will be the seventh trip Rocket Lab is providing for Synspective, part of a total of 21 already scheduled. The trips are designed to deploy Synspective’s “low Earth orbit constellation that provides high-frequency, high-resolution Earth observation data” that can be used for disaster response and management, national security, and environmental monitoring.

Rocket Lab shares, up 6% in recent trading, are up nearly 150% year-to-date.

–Bill McColl

Delta Kicks Off Airline Earnings Tomorrow. Here’s What to Watch For.

15 hr 55 min ago

Delta is slated to be the first airline to report third-quarter earnings this Thursday. Its results may also be the best in the industry, analysts say.

“Premium” carriers that rely more on international and first-class tickets, such as Delta Air Lines (DAL) and United Airlines (UAL), are performing well, analysts said. Meanwhile, budget carriers are seeing sluggish demand from less affluent Americans. Many are using promotions to sell domestic main cabin fares, while trying to make more money on flying passengers rather than on credit-card programs. 

“Premium carriers widen their lead as earnings recession continues to bite,” Deutsche wrote in a research note this week. “We expect half the industry to post losses.”

Delta expects third-quarter revenue to come in 2% to 4% above revenue a year earlier. Premium sales are going well; corporate travel improved; and in the current quarter, Delta started to make revenue on domestic fare, though not in the main cabin, President Glen Hauenstein recently said.

“There’s a lot of consternation, I think, at the bottom end,” of the market, Hauenstein said at a conference last month, according to a transcript made available by AlphaSense. “We’re at the very top, we believe, of the income bracket. So, our average consumer is well over $100,000 [in income] a year … and that seems to be good.”

United’s revenue per available seat mile (RASM), a closely watched industry metric, will likely be negative year-over-year in the third quarter, in part because of flight caps this spring at Newark Airport, the company said. RASM is likely to improve toward the end of the year thanks to “fantastic” international demand and strong corporate sales, CFO Michael Leskinen said at a conference last month.

Read the full article here.

–Sarina Trangle

Verizon Partnership Sends Shares of a Space-Based Cell Provider Surging

16 hr 19 min ago

Shares of AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) blasted off, trading at an all-time high after the provider of space-based cellphone service announced it had struck a deal with Verizon Communications (VZ) to offer direct-to-customer broadband service across the continental U.S.

AST said the service will be available to Verizon customers next year and will allow them to have cell reception wherever they are without the need for specialized equipment. 

AST noted that the agreement came after the company’s AST SpaceMobile network hit certain milestones in tests. Financial terms were not listed.

The deal “will extend the scope of Verizon’s 850 MHz premium low-band spectrum into areas of the U.S. that would benefit from the ubiquitous reach of space-based broadband technology,” said Founder and CEO Abel Avellan.

Srini Kalapala, senior vice president of technology and product development at Verizon, said the partnership is “not just filling in the map; we are creating a new paradigm of connectivity that will unlock the full potential of the digital age.” 

AST SpaceMobile shares have soared 250% this year. Shares of Verizon are little changed today.

–Bill McColl

This Data Streaming Software Firm’s Stock Is Soaring Wednesday

17 hr 1 min ago

Confluent (CFLT) shares jumped over 10% in early trading Wednesday following a report the data streaming company is exploring a sale.

The company’s move to sound out buyers comes as the artificial intelligence boom continues to boost demand for companies that support the technology’s infrastructure.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company is working with an investment bank on the sale process, according to a Reuters report, citing people familiar with the matter. Several private equity firms and technology companies have expressed interest in buying it, the report said.

Confluent didn’t immediately respond to an Investopedia request for comment.

The rise of AI, which needs real-time continuous data, has made companies like Confluent increasingly important to maintaining underlying infrastructure. In May, Salesforce (CRM) struck an $8 billion deal to buy AI-based data management software provider Informatica (INFA).

Though Confluent shares were higher in recent trading, they remained lower for the year, having entered Wednesday session down roughly 25% for 2025. The stock has yet to recover to its levels from July, when it plunged after the company reported that it lost business from a major customer.

–Nisha Gopalan

Will Mortgage Rates Fall—or Rise—Because of the Government Shutdown?

17 hr 21 min ago

The U.S. government shutdown could impact the cost of mortgages, especially if the Republicans’ and Democrats’ inability to agree on a new spending bill drags on. These standoffs make it harder to tell how the economy is doing, and consequently complicate the tricky task of predicting rates even more.

Mortgage rates are most heavily influenced by yields on 10-year Treasury notes. Lenders, who often bundle mortgages together and sell them to investors, price their mortgage-backed securities (MBS) based on the returns offered by competing government bonds. That generally means cheaper mortgages during shutdowns, as in these moments of uncertainty, 10-year treasury notes are in high demand. Their prices rise and their yields fall.

Shutdowns can also pull rates lower by weighing on demand for mortgages. That’s because they result in hundreds of thousands of federal employees not getting paid and delayed issuing of government-funded mortgages, such as FHA, USDA, and VA loans, as well as federally financed flood insurance, which is mandatory in some areas.

This doesn’t, however, mean it’s a given that mortgage rates will slide during a government shutdown.

There are competing forces at play. For example, rates could be pushed higher by credit and fiscal worries and uncertainty about the direction of the economy. If government agencies aren’t operational, they can’t release their scheduled reports about such topics as the labor market and inflation, which often have a major bearing on the economy, borrowing costs, and investor behavior.

Read the full article here.

–Daniel Liberto

Jefferies Stock Falls on Unit’s Exposure to Bankrupt First Brands

17 hr 41 min ago

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group (JEF) fell about 3% soon after markets opened after it disclosed that its Point Bonita Capital asset-management unit is owed $715 million from companies that bought parts from bankrupt auto-parts supplier First Brands.

“The Point Bonita portfolio has approximately $715 million invested in receivables that are almost entirely due from Walmart, Autozone, NAPA, O’Reilly Auto Parts, and Advanced Auto Parts, with First Brands, as the servicer, responsible for directing the Obligors’ payments to Point Bonita,” Jefferies said.

Jefferies shares are down about 27% this year.

Amazon Launches Prescription Vending Kiosks at Certain One Medical Clinics

19 hr 21 min ago

Amazon (AMZN) stock advanced nearly 1% before the bell after it said it was launching prescription vending kiosks at some Los Angeles-area One Medical clinics.

The company said that Amazon Pharmacy Kiosks will allow “patients to pick up prescriptions within minutes of their medical appointment,” and the service will debut in December.

“We know that when patients have to make a separate stop after seeing their doctor, many prescriptions never get filled,” said Hannah McClellan, Vice President of Operations, Amazon Pharmacy. “By bringing the pharmacy directly to the point of care, we’re removing a critical barrier and helping patients start their treatment when it matters most—right away.”

Amazon shares entered Wednesday up just 1% this year, while the benchmark S&P 500 has risen 14%.

Stock Futures Point Higher After Indexes Fell Tuesday

20 hr 27 min ago

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%.

S&P 500 futures also were up 0.2%.  

Nasdaq 100 futures also were 0.2% higher.