Wall Street closed higher on Sept 25 as gains in Microsoft and other artificial intelligence (AI)-linked technology stocks outweighed concerns over elevated oil prices and a fresh surge in US Treasury yields.
According to Reuters, the S&P 500 climbed 0.51% to 7,743.41, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.48% to 27,068.72. The Dow Jones Industrial Average outperformed with a 0.93% rise to 51,828.62.
Microsoft jumped 3.7% after unveiling new capabilities for its Copilot app, including a coding tool and an always-on AI agent, taking its year-to-date gain to 7%.
Qualcomm advanced 4%, Dell rose 5% and Akamai Technologies gained 3.2% following an US$11.6 billion cloud services deal with Anthropic. Meta Platforms, however, fell 3.3% after surging about 13% earlier in the week.
Seven of the S&P 500’s 11 sectors ended higher, led by information technology, up 0.91%, while industrials gained 0.6%.
For the week, the S&P 500 rose 1.2% and the Nasdaq added 2%, with the tech-heavy index having reached a record closing high on Sept 22.
Sentiment was also supported by reports that US and Iranian negotiators were exploring a phased path towards easing the conflict, including the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the potential lifting of Washington’s economic blockade.
However, pressure from bond markets remained. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield touched a fresh 19-year high before standing at 5.196%, up 3.4 basis points, while Brent crude remained above US$100 a barrel.
Markets are also increasingly pricing in tighter monetary policy, with traders assigning a 66% probability of at least a 25-basis-point Federal Reserve rate increase in October.
People Inc surged 11% following a report that MGM Resorts International was discussing a potential bid for the magazine publisher.
Trading volume remained relatively light at 14.9 billion shares, below the 20-session average of 16.8 billion shares.
