Traders at work at the New York Stock Exchange on October 28, 2025.
new york stock exchange
U.S. stock futures were mixed on Wednesday as major averages hit new records ahead of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision.
S&P500 futures Although it rose by 0.3%, Nasdaq 100 futures It rose by 0.4%. Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures It fell 61 points (0.1%).
Nvidia The stock rose more than 3% premarket, putting the chipmaker on pace to reach a market cap of $5 trillion. This is the first time a US company has reached such a valuation.
Wall Street is setting new records for major averages for the second day. The S&P 500 rose 0.2%, topping 6,900 for the first time during the day and just shy of the major milestone of 7,000. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 162 points, or 0.3%. The Nasdaq Composite Index outperformed, rising 0.8%.
Investors expect the stock market to continue to perform well as long as it can overcome this week’s rapid-fire challenges. The Fed is widely expected to cut rates by a quarter of a point at the end of Wednesday’s meeting, but it is less certain whether Chairman Jerome Powell will strike a dovish tone in his post-meeting comments. Investors are hoping the central bank will cut rates further at its December meeting.
The five Magnificent Seven companies scheduled to report this week are likely to continue spending on data center construction, but disappointment among the giants could have a negative impact on the broader market. Alphabet, Metaplatforms and Microsoft are expected to make announcements after the close of trading on Wednesday. Apple and Amazon will announce the results on Thursday.
The US-China trade tensions already appear to have eased following developments over the weekend, but investors are now awaiting the outcome of the meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea.
Global warming was the key driver for markets on Tuesday, said Thierry Wismann, global currency and interest rate strategist at Macquarie Group.
“Markets are seeing President Trump re-engaging with the rest of the world (i.e. China and Japan), which is a good thing insofar as it potentially tempers the appetite for additional tariffs,” Wisman said. “The prospects for very high tariffs, especially against China, have diminished. This also has implications for the prospect that the Fed will also become dovish, to some extent, given the link between lower tariffs and lower inflation.”
Indeed, high valuations and the ongoing government shutdown remain risks for a market at all-time highs, even as analysts warn traders not to bet on it.
“We expect the excitement to continue this week,” Lauren Goodwin, chief market strategist at New York Life Investments, said Tuesday on CNBC’s “Closing Bell.” She added: “I think we’ll be free and clear until the end of the year.”
—CNBC’s Pia Singh contributed to this report.
