The Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) highly anticipated September meeting took over Wall Street this week. On Wednesday, the Fed followed through with an expected 25 basis point cut, putting the Fed funds rate between 4%-4.25%, and projecting two more expected cuts in 2025. Outsized gains from Tesla (TSLA) pushed markets higher early in the week, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) logging a sixth-straight record close on Monday.
Momentum remained from Monday to Friday. Brushing off China-U.S. trade tensions, stocks cooled off slightly, though the S&P 500 Index (SPX) tapped a new record high before a brief pause. Wall Street's "fear gauge," the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), snapped a three-day win streak on Wednesday, while the small cap Russell 2000 (RUT) nabbed an intraday record high. To close out the week, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 are eyeing their third straight weekly wins, while the Dow looks to nab back-to-back weekly pops.
Tech, Chip Making Major Moves
Oracle (ORCL) continues to be a major headline hitter, even after last week's melt up, thanks to TikTok buzz. Tesla's recent moves landed Schaeffer's Vertical Options Trader subscribers a 424% return and Broadcom (AVGO) landed a fresh bull note. Plus, much of Thursday's tech gains can be attributed to Intel (INTC) and Nvidia's (NVDA) data center chip partnership.
China-based powerhouses Alibaba (BABA) and Baidu (BIDU) enjoyed AI tailwinds, while Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Micron Technology (MU) charted differing, but buzzworthy chart moves. Fellow semiconductor name Texas Instruments (TXN) struggled, after China opened an anti-dumping investigation on the company's integrated circuit (IC) chips.
Infrastructure, Grid Storylines to Monitor
Commodity stocks are still grappling with the impact of tariffs, with steel giant Nucor (NUE) slashing its third-quarter guidance. On a more positive note, uranium stocks had a huge week, after Energy Secretary Chris Wright shared plans to increase the uranium stockpile for the U.S. Meanwhile, chemical name Corteva (CTVA) enjoyed a price-target hike out of Deutsche Bank.
What's Next and Small S&P 500 Warning Signs
Elsewhere in commodities, Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White took a closer look at whether gold is a sustainable investment, while Senior V.P. of Research Todd Salamone showed small warning signs amid increasing market momentum.
Next week will usher in fresh gross domestic product (GDP) data, as well as earnings from Accenture (ACN), AutoZone (AZO), BlackBerry (BB), CarMax (KMX), Cintas (CTAS), Costco Wholesale (COST), KB Home (KBH), Micron Technology(MU), and Stitch Fix (SFIX).
