Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq rise, gold rally roars as Fed minutes signal more rate cuts in 2025

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 Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) turned roughly 0.2% higher on the heels of a losing day for the major gauges. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) climbed 0.6%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) moved up nearly 1%.

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).

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Markets moved to session highs in afternoon trading following the release of the Federal Reserve's minutes from its last policy meeting, which signaled more rate cuts could be in play for the rest of 2025.

"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," the minutes said.

Some caution is seeping into markets as the AI trade loses its fizz, as questions emerge about AI spending and a potential dot-com-style bubble in stocks. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq snapped a seven-day run of gains on Tuesday amid doubts over cloud profit outlook at Oracle (ORCL).

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 entering its seventh day, has deprived Wall Street and the Federal Reserve of the crucial economic data needed to shape their thinking.LIVE21 updates

13 mins ago

Ines Ferré

'Around half' of Fed officials expect three rate cuts by end of 2025, according to Fed minutes

The Fed minutes from September's FOMC minutes showed "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 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 last month by 25 basis points, a move opposed by newly appointed Governor Stephan Miran, who had wanted a 50 basis point cut.

The markets surged to session highs following the release of the Fed minutes. Today at 5:15 PM UTC

Laura Bratton

Automakers to take $30B tariff hit to profits: Moody's

Yahoo Finance's Pras Subramanian reports:

Read the full story here. Today at 4:30 PM UTC

Laura Bratton

'Very speculative, very frothy, very greedy': Wall Street says stock market's rise to records poses risks

Yahoo Finance's Allie Canal reports:

Read the full story here. Today at 3:45 PM UTC

Laura Bratton

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. Today at 3:00 PM UTC

Laura Bratton

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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Read the full story here. Today at 2:21 PM UTC

Laura Bratton

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). Today at 1:35 PM UTC

Laura Bratton

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.

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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. Today at 1:15 PM UTC

Jenny McCall

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:

Read more here. Today at 12:42 PM UTC

Grace O'Donnell

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. Today at 12:30 PM UTC

Jenny McCall

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.

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Bloomberg News reports:

Read more here. Today at 12:10 PM UTC

Grace O'Donnell

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:

Read more here. Today at 11:45 AM UTC

Karen Friar

Dalio echoes Griffin in seeing gold as safer than the dollar

Billionaire Ray Dalio has said that gold (GC=F) is “certainly” more of a safe haven than the US dollar (DX=F), per Bloomberg.

Dalio also said the metal’s record-setting rally echoes the 1970s, when it surged during a time of high inflation and economic instability.

Bloomberg reports:

Read more here. Today at 11:15 AM UTC

Jenny McCall

Good morning. Here's what's happening today.

Economic data: MBA mortgage applications (week ended Oct. 3); Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes (Sept. 17 meeting)

Earnings calendar: No notable earnings.

Here are some of the biggest stories you may have missed overnight and early this morning:

EU sees new US demands as undermining Trump's deal

Tesla's answer to a murky EV future: Shrinkflation

Nvidia to invest in Musk's xAI as part of $20B funding

The Fed's still divided, even as it flies blind

Goldman: It's too early to worry about a Big Tech bubble

Amazon to launch electronic kiosks for prescriptions at One Medical

Dalio echoes Griffin in seeing gold as safer than the dollar

S&P 500's rally seen having 'more fuel left' from AI, Fed

Tesla's cheaper Model Y faces crowded field in Europe Today at 10:00 AM UTC

Jenny McCall

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 Today at 9:34 AM UTC

Brian Sozzi

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: Today at 9:32 AM UTC

Karen Friar

SoftBank to buy ABB's robotics business in $5.4 billion deal

SoftBank (SFTBY, 9984.T) has agreed to buy ABB's (ABBN.SW, ABBNY) robotics unit in a $5.4 billion deal with the Swiss engineering giant.

The move is seen as furthering the Japanese conglomerate's focusing on marrying hardware with AI.

Reuters reports:

Read more here. Today at 9:30 AM UTC

Karen Friar

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:

Read more here. Today at 9:07 AM UTC

Brian Sozzi

HSBC serves up some reality on Intel

Intel's (INTC) stock is up a sizzling 90% in the past six months. It's definitely not because of strong performance.

The veteran chipmaker can now count Nvidia (NVDA) and the US government as major investors. More investment deals are likely, but the Street is beginning to view Intel's stock as too lofty, valuation-wise, even given its new high-profile investors.

HSBC analyst Frank Lee is out this morning with a reality check on Intel. He downgraded his rating on the company to Reduce from Hold.

He lays out why: Today at 9:01 AM UTC

Karen Friar

Nvidia to invest in Musk's xAI as part of $20 billion funding

Elon Musk's xAI (XAAI.PVT) is raising more financing than it initially planned, with Nvidia (NVDA) one of the backers tapped to lift ongoing funding to $20 billion, per Bloomberg.

The financing scheme will buy Nvidia chips and rent them to the AI startup for use in its upcoming Colossus 2 data center megaproject in Memphis, sources said.

Nvidia has pledged to invest up to $2 billion in the equity part of the deal. The AI chipmaker's shares traded slightly higher in Wednesday's premarket after the report.

Bloomberg reports:

Read more here. Today at 8:30 AM UTC

Jenny McCall

Confluent stock rises as data streaming software maker explores sale

Confluent shares rose 18% in premarket trading on Wednesday after announcing it is exploring a sale due to attracting acquisition interest, according to people familiar with the matter.

Reuters reports:

Read more here.

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