US close: Tech stocks power S&P 500, Nasdaq to new highs
By Benjamin Chiou
Date: Wednesday 08 Oct 2025
(Sharecast News) - US stocks finished mostly higher on Wednesday, sending the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to new record highs, as investors shrugged off the ongoing government shutdown and focused on bullishness in the AI sector - with sentiment lifted by heavyweight Nvidia.
The Dow ended the session marginally in the red after erasing earlier gains, but the S&P 500 rose 0.6% to a new peak of 6,753.72, and the Nasdaq jumped 1.1% to a record 23,043.38.
Minutes from the latest Federal Open Market Committee meeting, released during the session, had little effect on market movements despite showing that policymakers were divided over how many interest-rate cuts were coming before the end of the year. The slim majority of 10-9 predicted two more cut by the end of 2025.
The ongoing US Federal Government shutdown, which has now stretched into its eighth day, was also in focus as key data points continue to be delayed.
""The US government shutdown goes on with no sign of a resolution, but stocks continue to ignore the standoff. Nvidia's bullish commentary on demand has been the icing on the cake, but for most investors concerns about tariffs and inflation seem very distant," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.
US mortgage applications data - released by the non-governmental Mortgage Bankers Association of America - showed a fall of 4.7% in the week ended 3 October, extending the 12.7% drop seen in the prior period and further trimming a recent three-week surge of 42%. Despite a fresh decline in benchmark mortgage rates, buyers remained cautious amid ongoing uncertainty around US borrowing costs, with demand shifting toward adjustable-rate loans, which accounted for 9.5% of total contracts, up from 8.4% a week earlier. Applications to refinance a mortgage, which are more sensitive to short-term rate moves, fell 8%, while applications to purchase a home eased 1% week-on-week.
Nvidia provides a boost
Nvidia was among the tech stocks on the rise after chief executive Jensen Huang said "demand of computing has gone up substantially" over the past year, and the past six months in particular. Huang also confirmed that Nvidia was involved in Elon Musk's xAI startup, saying he was "super excited".
The stock bounced back after The Information reported on Tuesday that Oracle's cloud margins were below analyst forecasts, and that the company was losing money on some Nvidia chip rental deals. The report added to growing fears that the current AI rally may be overheating, drawing comparisons to the late-1990s dot-com bubble.
Oracle also rose on Wednesday, along with others in the semiconductor sector like Broadcom and Microchip Technology.
Meanwhile, AMD continued to surge after unveiling a multi-year infrastructure deal with OpenAI on Monday, under which it will supply high-performance graphics chips to power the ChatGPT developer's next-generation AI systems. As part of the deal, AMD issued OpenAI a warrant to purchase up to 160m shares, equivalent to 10% of its common stock, subject to deployment-linked milestones.
"Tech led the charge in the US, suggesting there is still a large group of investors who remain bullish on the AI story," said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell. "On one side we've got people pointing to the mega bucks being spent on AI-related technology, arguing this money wouldn't be pledged if the demand case wasn't strong, and that the money is coming from cash-rich companies. On the other side, there are growing concerns around equity valuations and over-exuberance."
In other news, insulation group TopBuild rallied on the news it was buying Specialty Products and Insulation for $1bn, while IT outfit Confluent jumped on reports it is mulling a sale.
Dow Jones - Risers
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $505.10 3.17%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $370.46 1.72%
Boeing Co. (BA) $225.09 1.58%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $22.75 0.44%
3M Co. (MMM) $155.52 0.43%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $189.66 0.42%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $240.06 0.29%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $69.41 0.26%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $524.85 0.17%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $783.85 -1.66%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $287.90 -1.50%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $86.82 -1.38%
American Express Co. (AXP) $325.08 -1.27%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $151.39 -1.21%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $306.10 -1.19%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $66.20 -1.00%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $383.95 -0.78%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $283.59 -0.78%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $153.18 -0.76%
S&P 500 - Risers
Arista Networks Inc. (ANET) $156.07 8.31%
Coty Inc. Class A (COTY) $4.30 6.16%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $42.65 5.31%
Quanta Services Inc. (PWR) $439.55 5.21%
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) $25.89 4.70%
Estee Lauder Co. Inc. (EL) $95.97 3.32%
NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $121.82 3.25%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $505.10 3.17%
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $166.45 3.02%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $66.92 3.02%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (JEF) $57.03 -7.88%
Advance Auto Parts (AAP) $52.96 -7.48%
Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. (ARE) $75.94 -3.68%
VF Corp. (VFC) $14.01 -3.51%
Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN) $52.44 -3.30%
FMC Corp. (FMC) $30.44 -2.51%
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $56.56 -2.48%
MGM Resorts International (MGM) $32.26 -2.42%
DaVita Inc (DVA) $127.81 -2.40%
Truist Financial Corp. (TFC) $44.59 -2.35%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $66.92 3.02%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $345.50 2.70%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $76.10 2.37%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $448.09 1.62%
Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $350.00 1.31%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $267.98 0.20%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $524.85 0.17%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $914.80 0.00%
Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) $27.40 0.00%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $246.70 0.00%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $22.58 -1.10%
Fiserv Inc. (FI) $126.93 -0.14%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $200.57 0.00%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $101.15 0.00%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $11.43 0.00%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $0.00 0.00%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $586.39 0.00%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $985.39 0.00%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $1,070.67 0.00%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $97.01 0.00%
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