NEW YORK — The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite both set record highs, led by technology stocks, as U.S. Treasury yields steadied after a relentless climb.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed on the 6th at 51,521.28, up 253.38 points, or 0.49%, from the previous session. The S&P 500 rose 44.98 points, or 0.58%, to 7,818.93, and the Nasdaq gained 122.48 points, or 0.45%, to 27,599.79. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq marked fresh all-time highs. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index added 0.34%.
Among the largest companies by market capitalization, Nvidia rose 0.14%, Apple 0.22%, Microsoft 0.78%, Amazon 1.95%, SpaceX 0.49%, Google parent Alphabet 0.35%, Broadcom 3.67% and Tesla 0.51%. Declining even in the broader rally were Facebook parent Meta, down 0.41%, TSMC, down 0.72%, SK hynix, down 6.39%, and Micron, down 1.73%. AMD jumped 2.80% after Chief Executive Lisa Su said the company plans to significantly expand chip supply next year to meet artificial intelligence demand.
Stocks climbed from the opening bell as U.S. Treasury yields fell for the first time in some time. The yield on the 10-year note, the global bond market's benchmark, slipped 0.032 percentage point to 5.279%. The 30-year yield fell 0.009 percentage point to 5.665%, and the two-year yield, which is sensitive to monetary policy, dropped 0.038 percentage point to 4.795%.
Expectations for third-quarter corporate earnings also supported the advance. The reporting season begins in earnest on the 13th, when JPMorgan and other large Wall Street banks release results. The London Stock Exchange Group projects that third-quarter net profit at S&P 500 companies will rise 30.6% from a year earlier, with the energy and technology sectors posting the largest gains.
The U.S. goods and services trade deficit widened 13.7% from July to $105.6 billion in August, the Commerce Department said. That was the largest shortfall since March of last year, just before President Donald Trump imposed reciprocal tariffs, and exceeded the $102 billion deficit expected by analysts surveyed by Dow Jones. Imports of capital goods, including semiconductors and industrial machinery, increased sharply alongside investment in AI infrastructure.
Oil prices edged higher as rising crude exports from the Middle East and a Group of Seven agreement to release strategic reserves weighed on the market, while escalating military tensions between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's pro-Iran Houthi rebels pushed in the other direction. Brent crude futures for December delivery settled 0.26% higher at $100.58 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London. West Texas Intermediate futures for November delivery ended 0.01% higher at $89.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Vitol, the world's largest commodities trader, said about 12 million barrels of crude and 2 million barrels of petroleum products had been loaded onto tankers and left the Middle East each day over the past seven to 10 days. The G7 also agreed to release a combined 100 million barrels of crude and diesel from reserves over the next four months. Still, uncertainty is mounting as Houthi rebels continue to strike Saudi airports and refineries.
