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US Markets Hit Record Highs Ahead of Fed Decision and Tech Earnings

Markets

Business Honor
29 October, 2025

AI-driven rally pushes Wall Street to new peaks as investors await Fed policy shift

US stock markets continued their record-breaking surge on Tuesday, October 29, as investors looked to the Federal Reserve's pivotal interest rate move and a wave of significant tech profits. The rally momentum, fueled by the ongoing artificial intelligence (AI) frenzy, propelled all three benchmark indexes to fresh highs before the gains were pared toward session end.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 160 points higher after testing the 48,000 mark intraday in a brief session. The S&P 500 reached an all-time 6,900 before inching up 0.2% at the close, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.8%, with heavyweight Nvidia leading the charge. Nvidia’s stock rose 5%, propelling its market capitalization to nearly $5 trillion, after a series of significant announcements by CEO Jensen Huang during the company's annual GTC conference. Nvidia announced an investment of $1 billion in Nokia, triggering a 22% surge in the telecom company’s share price. The firm also announced a deal with the US Department of Energy to construct seven new supercomputers and reaffirmed that its newest Blackwell GPUs are already being produced in Arizona.

In the meantime, Apple became a member of the rare $4 trillion market cap club, after its stock rose nearly 60% from April, buoyed by high demand for the latest iPhone 17. All eyes are now on the Federal Reserve, which is expected to lower interest rates by 25 basis points. But Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's words on policy direction going forward will be key in deciding the next course of action in the market. A poll found that although most analysts predict yet more cuts in December and January, there are fears of overvalued AI valuations and ongoing inflation. A full 80% of those polled think AI stocks are "somewhat" to "very overvalued." As Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta prepare to report earnings next, Wall Street's AI-fueled rally is put to its greatest test so far.