U.S. equities closed at fresh all-time highs, with gains in AI-linked and mega-cap stocks outweighing losses in financial names hit by regulatory concerns.
Market Snapshot
S&P 500 Index rose 0.2% to 6,977.27, a record close
Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2% to 49,590.20, also a record
Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.3%, ending less than 1% below its all-time high
Both the S&P 500 and Dow also set new intraday highs during the session.
What Drove the Market
AI and Big-Cap Strength Offset Financial Weakness
Gains in selected technology and consumer heavyweights helped reverse early weakness:
CoreWeave surged 12.2%
Oracle rose 3.1%
Advanced Micro Devices gained 2.2%
Broadcom advanced 2.1%
Outside tech, Walmart climbed 3% after announcing:
Integration of its merchandise with Alphabet’s Gemini AI
Inclusion into the Nasdaq 100 Index
Macro Shock: Powell Investigation Sparks Flight to Hedges
Markets digested news that the U.S. government is investigating Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, related to testimony on a controversial Fed building renovation.
Fears over Fed independence pushed gold and silver to record highs
Cryptocurrencies also benefited as investors hedged against potential U.S. dollar weakness
Financials Under Pressure
Credit-card stocks fell sharply after President Trump said he wants to cap credit-card interest rates at 10%:
American Express fell 4.3%
Visa dropped 1.9%
Movers to Watch
Top Gainers
Alibaba +10.2% on China tech optimism and positive JPMorgan commentary
Crypto-linked names such as IREN Ltd, Strategy, and Coinbase advanced alongside Bitcoin
Notable Decliners
Duolingo -8.5% after CFO resignation
Select space stocks, including Sidus Space, also retreated
Magnificent Seven Check
Gainers: Alphabet, Tesla, Apple, Nvidia
Decliners: Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Amazon
Notably, Alphabet briefly crossed a US$4 trillion market cap, joining an elite group previously occupied by Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple.
Key Takeaway
U.S. markets remain in record territory, driven by AI momentum and mega-cap leadership, even as political and regulatory risks surface. Investor positioning suggests risk appetite is intact, but increasingly selective — favouring AI enablers, infrastructure, and defensive growth over rate-sensitive financials.
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