Wall Street starts the week on a high
US stock markets closed Monday with solid gains. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq reached fresh intraday records as investors turned their attention to the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting scheduled later this week.
Musk boosts Tesla stake
Shares of Tesla advanced 3.6 percent after filings revealed that CEO Elon Musk purchased nearly one billion dollars' worth of the electric-car maker's stock on Friday.
Alphabet hits new milestone
Google's parent company Alphabet set a historic benchmark, with its market capitalization crossing the three trillion dollar threshold for the first time.
Fed meeting in focus
All eyes are now on the Federal Open Market Committee gathering, set for September 16–17. Market participants widely expect the Fed to trim interest rates by 25 basis points, following recent labor data that suggested weakening employment trends.
Market snapshot
- Dow Jones Industrial Average added 49.23 points, or 0.11 percent, to close at 45,883.45;
- S&P 500 gained 30.99 points, or 0.47 percent, finishing at 6,615.28;
- Nasdaq Composite rose 207.65 points, or 0.94 percent, ending the day at 22,348.75.
Tech resilience leads the way
The previous week also brought growth across the major US indexes. On Friday, both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 once again touched intraday highs, underscoring the continued strength of technology stocks.
Dow feels the drag
Shares of McDonald's and Procter & Gamble weighed on the Dow, preventing the index from posting stronger gains.
CoreWeave strikes major deal with Nvidia
CoreWeave shares jumped 7.6 percent after the data center operator announced an agreement with Nvidia. Under the deal, the chipmaker will purchase all unsold cloud capacity from CoreWeave. The initial value of the agreement is estimated at 6.3 billion dollars. Meanwhile, Kerrisdale Capital disclosed a short position against CoreWeave.
Asian markets show optimism
On Tuesday, Asian equities advanced while the dollar weakened. Traders are betting that the Federal Reserve will resume its easing cycle this week and may leave the door open for further rate cuts.
Politics in the background
Markets paid little attention to political developments in Washington. The Senate narrowly approved the nomination of Stephen Miran to the Fed's Board of Governors, while a US appeals court separately rejected Donald Trump's bid to remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook.
All eyes on the Fed
Neither decision is seen as likely to influence the outcome of the Fed's Wednesday meeting. A quarter-point rate cut is already fully priced into market expectations.
Sentiment remains upbeat
Anticipation of easier monetary policy has fueled positive momentum in recent sessions. This optimism has pushed equities to fresh highs, underscoring investor confidence.
Asian markets hit new highs
The MSCI broad index for Asia-Pacific shares excluding Japan climbed to its highest level in more than four years on Tuesday, gaining 0.7 percent. Japanese benchmarks Nikkei and Topix also set fresh records.
Europe opens steady
EUROSTOXX 50 futures remained flat, while FTSE contracts rose 0.08 percent and DAX futures edged up 0.03 percent.
Fed outlook in the spotlight
Markets are awaiting updated interest rate projections in the form of the so-called dot plot, along with comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on the pace and scale of potential easing. Current futures pricing reflects expectations for a 127-basis-point reduction by mid-2026, meaning anything short of a dovish stance could disappoint investors.
Diverging trends in China and Hong Kong
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index inched up 0.08 percent, while China's blue-chip CSI300 slipped 0.38 percent.
Wall Street maintains momentum
Nasdaq futures gained 0.14 percent and S&P 500 futures advanced 0.08 percent, following record highs reached by both benchmarks in the previous session.
Nvidia under scrutiny
Nvidia shares closed slightly lower on Monday after Beijing accused the AI chipmaker of violating antitrust regulations, marking the latest escalation in the US-China trade dispute.
TikTok deal takes shape
Meanwhile, officials from Washington and Beijing announced a framework agreement to bring TikTok under US control. The arrangement is expected to be finalized during a phone call between Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday.
Dollar retreats
The Federal Reserve's rate cut weighed heavily on the greenback, sending it on Tuesday to its lowest level since late July against a basket of major currencies.
European currencies advance
The British pound climbed to 1.3624 dollars, its strongest level in more than two months. The euro followed suit, reaching 1.1787, the highest since July 24.
Aussie dollar touches new peak
The risk-sensitive Australian dollar hit a ten-month high of 0.6677 dollars before easing slightly. By the end of the session, it had slipped 0.1 percent to 0.6662 dollars.
Treasury yields steady
US government bond yields held largely unchanged after the previous session's decline. The two-year yield stood at 3.5366 percent, while the ten-year benchmark remained at 4.0375 percent.
Oil prices inch higher
Brent crude futures rose 0.25 percent to 67.61 dollars a barrel. US crude gained 0.27 percent, settling at 63.47 dollars a barrel.
Gold hits record high
Spot gold surged to an all-time peak of 3689.27 dollars an ounce, buoyed by a weaker dollar and easing expectations for further Fed action.