On Thursday, the three major indices of the New York stock market launched into a late all-time high streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged over 600 points, surpassing the 40,000 mark for the first time. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 jumped past 5,700 points, setting a new record for the first time in over two months. The Nasdaq rose nearly 3%, exceeding 18,000 points.
The stock market reacted the day after the Federal Reserve decided on the big cut, lowering interest rates by 0.5 percentage points during the Federal Open Market Committee meeting. After closing lower the previous day, the market welcomed the Fed’s first rate cut in four and a half years.
By 2:13 PM Eastern Time, the Dow had risen by 594.14 points, or 1.43%, to reach 40,097.24—marking a new all-time high just three days after Monday. The S&P 500 climbed 106.53 points, or 1.90%, to 5,724.79. If it closes at this level, it would establish a new record high, the first since July 16. The Nasdaq jumped by 497.48 points, or 2.83%, reaching 18,070.79. Despite this significant increase, the Nasdaq still has further to climb to reach its all-time high of 18,647.45 set on July 10.
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) Volatility Index, commonly known as the Wall Street Fear Index, decreased by 7%. After rebounding by 3% the previous day, the VIX fell by 1.22 points, or 6.69%, to 17.01.
Semiconductor stocks experienced notable gains, with NVIDIA, AMD, and Tesla all performing strongly. NVIDIA surged by $5.43, or 4.79%, to $118.80, while AMD jumped $9.97, or 6.72%, to $158.26. Micron Technology, which had recently faced challenges, rose by $2.56, or 2.93%, to $89.91. Broadcom recorded an increase of $8.41, or 5.22%, reaching $169.55.
Tesla’s stock rose over 7%, driven by expectations that the rate cut would lower financing costs for its electric vehicles and stimulate demand. The stock soared by $16.32, or 7.18%, to $243.52.
