Investopedia Markets News (all except PF)

Major U.S. equities indexes were lower at midday Tuesday after the benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq hit new intraday records.

Ford Motor (F) was one of the worst-performing stocks in the S&P 500, with shares down roughly 7%, following a report that a fire at a major aluminum supplier would affect production for months.

Tesla (TSLA) shares, which jumped 5.5% yesterday after the company teased a Tuesday product launch, pulled back 3%.

Strategy (MSTR) shares fell over 7% to lead Nasdaq decliners as the price of Bitcoin dropped from an all-time high set yesterday. Strategy is the largest corporate holder of the cryptocurrency.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) shares climbed close to 4%, extending this week's rally after soaring 24% Monday on news of a massive chip deal with OpenAI.

AppLovin (APP) shares rebounded 7% to lead the S&P 500 and Nasdaq after sinking 14% yesterday on a report that the Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating the mobile app monetization company's data-collection practices after a whistleblower's complaint.

Constellation Brands (STZ) stock rose 2.5% after the parent of Modelo and other beer brands reported a smaller-than-expected decline in quarterly sales.

Gold set a new record high, crossing $4,000 per ounce for the first time. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note pulled back. The U.S. dollar rose against the euro, pound, and yen. Oil prices edged lower.

• Dell said Tuesday that it's boosting its long-term outlook, thanks in part to growth driven by demand for artificial intelligence.
• The company said it believes it is "well positioned with a leading portfolio from data center infrastructure to PCs."
  

Dell Technologies wants you to know it's an artificial intelligence winner.

The maker of a wide range products from AI servers to PCs said Tuesday it sees a "massive" opportunity ahead from AI, and raised its long-term outlook, pointing to growth driven by the emerging tech.

Dell (DELL) projected its annual revenue could rise 7% to 9%, up from its prior outlook of 3% to 4%, and earnings-per-share growth of 15% or better, nearly double its previous forecast of 8% or more.

"Customers are hungry for AI and the compute, storage and networking we provide to deploy intelligence at scale. We’re successfully translating that demand into growth and strong cash flow that we’ve largely returned to shareholders,” CEO Michael Dell said in a release.

The company also committed to dividend growth of 10% or more annually through fiscal 2030, two years later than its prior commitment.

Shares of Dell jumped more than 6% to around $155 Tuesday following the news, before giving back those early gains and slipping into negative territory. (See here for more reporting from Investopedia on today's market moves.)

While some legacy tech giants like chipmaker Intel have struggled to keep up with advances in AI, others like server maker Dell, cloud computing giant Oracle, and International Business Machines have seen strong signs of success catering to growing AI demand.

In August, Dell had posted record quarterly revenue that topped analysts estimates, which the company attributed to strong AI demand.

In a note to clients Tuesday, Citi analysts reiterated a "buy" rating and $160 target for the stock, a bit above the $153 mean of analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha, citing momentum in Dell's AI portfolio. Analysts at J.P. Morgan also suggested the server maker stands to benefit from a deal between partner Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and ChatGPT maker OpenAI announced yesterday.

As of midday Tuesday, Dell's stock has gained 27% so far in 2025, though it remains well off its highs around $175 last year.

• All-cash buyers made up almost 33% of all housing sales in the first half of 2025, continuing a pandemic-era trend that has frustrated other buyers, according to a Realtor.com report.
• High mortgage rates have made it difficult for many would-be buyers to break into the market, giving an advantage to buyers with significant housing equity or high wealth.
• More than half of homes priced above $2 million were paid for in cash, while two-thirds of homes sold under $100,000 were also all-cash purchases.

There’s one way to beat the sky high mortgage rates: Pay in cash. 

A new report shows that’s what an outsize share of buyers are doing, extending a pandemic-era trend that's contributed to the affordability crisis that has stalled the housing market. 

All-cash transactions made up nearly a third of home sales in the first half of 2025, a Realtor.com report found. While down slightly from last year, all-cash purchases are still well above pre-pandemic levels that made up 28.6% of transactions. 

The trend presents another challenge for buyers in an increasingly unaffordable housing market, especially first-time homebuyers. Pressured by mortgage rates that hovered above 6.5% over the first half of the year, buyers also encountered limited housing inventory that kept prices elevated. As a result, all-cash buyers are often winning bidding wars for houses, a problem that was particularly pervasive during the pandemic. 

High costs, limited housing supply and high mortgage rates make the real estate market extremely challenging. All-cash buyers who can win bidding wars and complete a purchase quickly make it harder for shoppers who rely on a mortgage to finance a home.

“High-wealth buyers, investors, and those with significant equity can move quickly and often win out in competitive situations,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com. “For traditional, mortgage-reliant buyers, this can add another hurdle in an already challenging affordability environment.”

Cash purchases have created a U-shaped pattern in home buying, the report showed. Two-thirds of homes priced under $100,000 are purchased with cash, while four-in-ten sales over $1 million were all cash. More than half of homes priced over $2 million were bought with cash.

Older homeowners and buyers with significant equity commonly pay in cash, the report found. And while high-wealth buyers also make up a significant portion of cash purchases, they are less influenced by borrowing costs, often looking at broader financial considerations.

“Cash sales underscore the wealth concentration shaping today’s housing market,” said Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com. “If mortgage rates fall, we could see financed buyers regain ground, but for now, cash remains a powerful competitive advantage.”

The reasons buyers pay in cash can vary. All-cash sales in Mississippi are likely a result of low housing costs and limited access to credit, the report found. Meanwhile, all-cash sales in places like Montana and Idaho are the result of an influx of out-of-state buyers, while all-cash transactions in Hawaii and Maine are fueled by vacation home purchases.

• Advanced Micro Devices shares rose Tuesday morning after soaring yesterday to a 19-month high on news that the chip designer and ChatGPT maker OpenAI have inked a multi-year supply deal.
• The stock staged a dramatic breakout from an inverse head and shoulders pattern on Monday, laying the groundwork for follow-through buying.
• Investors should watch critical overhead areas on AMD's chart around $227 and $272, while also monitoring support levels near $174 and $150.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) shares rose Tuesday after soaring yesterday to a 19-month high on news that the chip designer and ChatGPT maker OpenAI have inked a multi-year supply deal.

Under the agreement, OpenAI is committing to buying several generations of AI chips from AMD in a long-term deal that could see it take a 10% stake in the Nvidia (NVDA) rival. AMD said it anticipates the ripple effect of the deal to net it more than $100 billion in new revenue over four years from OpenAI and other customers.

AMD shares, which jumped 24% on Monday, were up more than 5% at around $215 in recent trading, putting the stock on pace for a record closing high. The stock is up 77% since the start of the year, handily outpacing Nvidia’s 40% return over the same period. 

Below, we take a closer look at AMD’s weekly chart and apply technical analysis to identify critical price levels worth watching out for.

AMD shares staged a dramatic breakout from an inverse head and shoulders pattern on Monday, laying the groundwork for follow-through buying.

While the surge coincided with the relative strength index crossing into overbought territory, the indicator remains below peaks that preceded drawdowns in November 2021 and March 2024. However, the stock closed near its low for the day yesterday, indicating a short-term over-extension.

Let’s point out two critical overhead areas to watch on AMD’s chart if the shares continue their bullish run and also identify support levels worth monitoring during potential pullbacks.

If the chipmaker’s shares regain their upward momentum, investors should initially keep track of the $227 area. This location on the chart would likely attract significant attention near Monday's high, which coincidently sits just below the stock’s record intraday high set in March last year.

Investors can project an overhead area to watch above the stock’s all-time high by using the measuring principle, a technique that analyzes chart patterns to forecast future price movements.

When applying the study to AMD’s chart, we calculate the distance from the inverse head and shoulders’ head to neckline in points and add that amount to the pattern’s neckline. For example, adding $98 to $174 projects a bullish target of $272, about 34% above Monday's closing price.

During retracements, it’s worth watching for a potential fill of yesterday's stock gap down to around $174. Investors would likely see this as a high probability buying area near the inverse head and shoulders’ neckline, which could flip from prior resistance to future support.

Finally, a steeper pullback would open the door to a retest of the $150 level. This area on the chart could provide support near the inverse head and shoulders’ two shoulders, which closely align with the December 2023 high.

The comments, opinions, and analyses expressed on Investopedia are for informational purposes only. Read our warranty and liability disclaimer for more info.

As of the date this article was written, the author does not own any of the above securities.

News of the day for Oct. 7, 2025

Stock futures are little changed after major index finished yesterday at new all-time highs; bitcoin is pulling back from its $125,000-record high, while gold is hovering near its record just under $4,000 an ounce; Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) shares continue to rally on the back of its massive deal with OpenAI; the Trump Administration is buying 10% in Trilogy Metals as it looks to unlock Alaskan critical minerals; andTesla (TSLA) has teased an event that analysts believe could bring a more affordable EV model. Meanwhile, Amazon (AMZN) kicks off its two-day Prime Big Deal Days sales.  Here's what you need to know today.

Stock futures are little changed this morning after the benchmark S&P 500 index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite set new record highs on Monday, boosted by optimism around the AI spending boom after OpenAI disclosed plans to take a stake in Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). The U.S. government shutdown entered its seventh day but appears to have little impact on share trading. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which can influence the borrowing costs on a range of consumer loans, ticked higher to 4.17%.

Bitcoin (BTCUSD) is trading at around $124,400 after hitting record highs above $125,000 the past two days as investors seek a hedge amid uncertainty around the ongoing U.S. government shutdown and the waning value of the U.S. dollar. Bitcoin is up more than 50% from its April lows of below $80,000. Gold futures, which have also rallied lately as investors seek safe havens, were up slightly at $3,990 a ounce, trading at record levels.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) shares are rising in premarket trading after surging 24% Monday following news the chipmaker had entered into a major partnership with OpenAI. The ChatGPT owner, which recently surpassed SpaceX as the world's most valuable startup, is buying several generations of AMD's AI chips in a long-term deal that could also see OpenAI acquire a stake in the semiconductor firm. AMD shares were up nearly 4% recently. Meanwhile, some of the companies mentioned by the ChatGPT maker at its DevDay developer conference Monday as partners for “App SDK” continued to rally. Shares of design software provider Figma (FIG) were up 7%, while Coursera (COUR) added 2%.

Shares in Trilogy Metals (TMQ) more than tripled in premarket trading on news the U.S. plans to invest $35.6 million to take a 10% stake in the Vancouver mining firm as the Trump administration looks to unlock access to minerals in Alaska and revive the 211-mile Ambler Road project.The U.S has the option to buy a further 7.5% stake in Trilogy contingent on the completion of the Ambler Road project.Trilogy Metals owns copper and other deposits in the Ambler Metals project in Northwest Alaska. The deal to unlock Alaskan mining deposits is the Trump Administration's latest investment in companies deemed critical to national security, coming a week after the U.S. said it would take a stake in another Canadian mine developer, Lithium Americas (LAC). 

Tesla (TSLA) has teased the prospect of an event Tuesday that some analysts speculate could bring a more affordable EV, following two videos the company posted on Elon Musk’s social platform X over the weekend. The EV company, which is run by Musk, on Sunday posted a short video on X depicting a spinning wheel and Tuesday's date. It later shared another showing the headlights of a vehicle, details of which couldn't be easily seen.

• AppLovin shares had more than doubled this year through Friday's close. Today a press report cut into those gains substantially.
• The SEC is investigating the company, among the newest members of the S&P 500, after a whistleblower's report, according to Bloomberg.

Shares of AppLovin tumbled Monday, a stumble in what has largely been a powerful upward run for the stock in 2025.

AppLovin (APP) finished the day down 14%, with most of that following an afternoon report from Bloomberg that, citing people familiar with the matter, said the Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating the mobile app monetization company's data-collection practices after a whistleblower's complaint.

In the span of just a few hours, AppLovin investors were both digesting an upbeat report from a Wall Street analyst and trying to unpack a double-digit swoon that followed a report indicating a government investigation into the company. Today's drop was an unexpected surprise for investors who've feasted on good news this year.

An AppLovin spokesperson in a statement said that "we regularly engage with regulators and if we get inquiries we address them in the ordinary course. Material developments, if any, would be disclosed through the appropriate public channels." The SEC did not provide a statement, citing the ongoing government shutdown.

The news wasn't well-received by investors, who through Friday's close seen the shares more than double this year and in September cheered the company's addition to the S&P 500 months after short-sellers had set their sights on the stock. The shares finished last week near $683; they ended today at $587, reflecting a slip to prices last seen roughly a month ago.

Analysts at Wedbush, meanwhile, had earlier today lifted their price target on the shares by $20 to $745, saying that the company's "phenomenal growth will continue for the foreseeable future, with a staggering profit margin." They're far from the only Wall Street bulls out there, to be sure: The average price target, as tracked by Visible Alpha, is just under $708.

• A high-profile AI partnership powered a chip stock higher on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025, while an adtech darling tumbled on reports of a regulatory probe. 
• AMD shares took off after the chipmaker announced a collaboration with ChatGPT maker OpenAI.
• AppLovin shares slumped following reports the Securities and Exchange Commission has been looking into its data collection practices.
  

A semiconductor stock logged the top performance in the benchmark index following the announcement of a collaboration with a major artificial intelligence player. Meanwhile, shares of an adtech darling plummeted following reports of a probe by federal regulators.

The S&P 500 rose 0.4% and the Nasdaq climbed 0.7% to set fresh closing record Monday, boosted by broader tech gains, while the Dow slipped 0.1%. See here for more reporting from Investopedia on the first day of the trading week.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) shares added nearly a quarter of their value in Monday's session, outpacing every other stock in S&P 500, after the chipmaker announced a major artificial intelligence partnership with OpenAI. The ChatGPT owner, which recently surpassed SpaceX as the world's most valuable startup, agreed to purchase several generations of AMD's AI chips in a long-term deal that could also see OpenAI acquire a stake in the semiconductor firm.

Other stocks with exposure to AI infrastructure also moved higher following the announcement from AMD and OpenAI. Shares of Monolithic Power Systems (MPWR) and AI server maker Super Micro Computer (SMCI) added over 5%. DoorDash (DASH), and Uber (UBER), which got a shoutout from OpenAI during its DevDay developer conference, were also among the day's top performers.

Tesla's (TSLA) stock climbed 5.5% after the EV maker teased a Tuesday event that raised speculation the company could announce a lower-priced EV. During the company's earnings call in July, executive had suggested Tesla would make "more affordable models" available in the fourth quarter of this year.

AppLovin (APP) shares tumbled 14%, suffering the heaviest losses in the S&P 500 following reports the Securities and Exchange Commission has been looking into its data collection practices. Despite Monday's losses, the stock is up about 80% for 2025.

Verizon (VZ) shares sank 5.1% after the telecom giant named former PayPal (PYPL) chief Dan Schulman as its new CEO, effective immediately. Schulman, who has served on Verizon's board since 2018, is replacing Hans Vestberg, who will remain on the board of directors and serve as a special advisor over the coming year as the telecom giant aims to close out its pending acquisition of fiber-optic internet provider Frontier Communications.

• Shares of Figma, Expedia, Uber and others gained Monday after shoutouts from OpenAI during the ChatGPT maker's developer conference. 
• The moves helped power gains for the tech sector, helping to boost the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite to fresh closing highs.

These days, a shoutout from OpenAI is all it takes to send stocks higher.

Shares of design software provider Figma (FIG) gained more than 7% in the wake of a mention from the ChatGPT maker at its DevDay developer conference Monday, while Expedia (EXPE) added about 2% and Coursera (COUR) closed slightly higher after rising as much as 8% during today's session. The companies were named as just a few of several launch partners for OpenAI's "App SDK," which allows users to access their apps through ChatGPT, as of today.

Uber (UBER) and DoorDash (DASH), which OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said would join the lineup in the weeks ahead, each rose nearly 4%, propelling both into the list of top performers in the S&P 500 Monday.

Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), which announced a massive chip deal with OpenAI ahead of the event, saw its stock soar 24% to lead the benchmark index.

OpenAI's expanding influence speaks to the strength of investor appetite for stocks linked to AI. These companies' stock moves also highlight the sector's growing impact on broader markets, which has raised some worries about a bubble in AI.

The moves helped power gains for the tech sector, helping to boost the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite to fresh closing highs. (See here for more reporting from Investopedia on the day's market action.)

Though OpenAI isn't publicly traded, the startup has become something of a "kingmaker" in the AI space, with the ability to drive optimism about the stocks of companies with close ties. Last week, shares of Etsy (ETSY) and Shopify (SHOP) soared after OpenAI said it launched an "Instant Checkout" feature in ChatGPT.

After recently finalizing a secondary share sale, OpenAI is reportedly worth an estimated $500 billion, making it the world's most valuable private startup ever.

• Wall Street has set its expectations for third-quarter earnings too low, according to David Kostin, lead U.S. equities analyst at Goldman Sachs.
• Modest expectations may set the stage for stocks to rise as the majority of S&P 500 companies report earnings later this month.
• Analysts increased earnings estimates throughout the third quarter, the first time since late 2021 that Wall Street has grown more optimistic about earnings over the course of a quarter.

Investors could be in for pleasant surprises this earnings season.

According to David Kostin, the top U.S. stock market analyst at Goldman Sachs, Wall Street is underestimating the economy’s strength and setting the bar too low. The consensus among equities analysts is that S&P 500 earnings growth slowed to 6% in the third quarter from 11% in the second.

“We expect earnings growth will surpass this forecast, as usual, due to stronger sales growth than consensus expects and positive surprises from the Magnificent 7,” Goldman analysts led by Kostin said in a recent report.

Individual stock prices are based on many factors, but two of the most fundamental are earnings growth and valuation. With stocks currently trading near record highs and valuations elevated, companies may need to impress Wall Street with their earnings to justify and increase their stock price.

Another quarter of better-than-expected earnings could help sustain the market's momentum through the end of the year, which is historically the best time for stocks.

Wall Street estimates real sales growth slowed to 1% from 2.5% in the previous quarter, but Kostin believes that’s too conservative a view in light of recent economic data. Goldman economists estimate GDP grew 2% in the third quarter, about in line with second-quarter growth. 

If sales growth is substantially weaker than in the second quarter, it may be attributable to less-favorable foreign exchange rates. The value of the U.S. dollar slid throughout the first half of the year, boosting the value of the S&P 500’s international sales. With the dollar stabilizing in the third quarter, that tailwind likely dissipated. 

Kostin believes Wall Street is also underestimating the Mag 7, the tech mega-caps that have been the main drivers of S&P 500 earnings growth for the last three years. Analysts forecast the group's earnings grew half as fast in the third quarter as they did in the second. Wall Street was expecting a similar slowdown last quarter, according to Kostin. Instead, the Mag 7 handily beat estimates.

Expectations may be lower than is warranted in Kostin’s view, but analysts are still more optimistic about earnings than they were three months ago. 

Analysts, in aggregate, raised their S&P 500 earnings per share estimate by 0.1% between the beginning and end of the third quarter, according to FactSet Research Senior Earnings Analyst John Butters. This marks the first time since the fourth quarter of 2021 that analysts have grown more confident about earnings over the course of the quarter. 

Analysts increased their estimates during the last earnings season in July and August, as a series of trade deals and strong earnings reports helped clear the fog of uncertainty around tariffs and their impact on the bottom line. Kostin warns against expecting a repeat this month.

“With little recent change to the outlook for tariffs or the economy, we expect much more modest revisions this quarter,” he wrote.

Kostin also expects tariffs to be a bigger headwind for earnings this quarter. Customs duties totaled $93 billion, up 33% from the second quarter. Corporate America's profit margins were likely stable due to tariff mitigation strategies like supplier changes and cost cuts, says Kostin, "but substantial margin expansion in 3Q appears unlikely."

• The current government shutdown isn't expected to leave scars on the economy, but that could change if President Donald Trump follows through on a threat to fire thousands of federal workers.
  
• In past shutdowns, the U.S. economy has continued to chug along, with employers adding jobs and stocks rising.
• Permanently laying off federal workers would be unprecedented and could damage the labor market at a time when it was already deteriorating.
  

The last few times the U.S. government shut down for days on end, the U.S. economy and financial markets emerged unscathed—but President Donald Trump's threat to fire federal workers en masse complicates the outlook this time around.

Trump has threatened to permanently lay off government workers and end federally funded projects favored by Democrats during the shutdown. If carried out, those actions could deal a noticeable blow to the labor market at a time when hiring was already looking shaky.

"Well, there could be firings," Trump said last week in an interview on One America News Network. "And it could also be other things. We could cut projects they wanted, favorite projects, and they'd be permanently cut."

In past shutdowns, hundreds of thousands of federal workers were sent home without pay. However, they were brought back to work and given back pay as soon as the shutdown ended, limiting the damage to the overall job market. Indeed, the U.S. economy added jobs during the three previous long shutdowns in 2019, 2013, and 1996.

Although past government shutdowns have had little impact on the economy, that could change if President Trump fires thousands of federal workers. A wave of mass firings could undermine the labor market at a time when employers are already adding the fewest jobs in years.

The current shutdown could prove to be one of the longer ones, as neither Republicans nor Democrats have yet budged toward a compromise. Financial betting site Polymarket is currently pricing in 30% odds that the shutdown could last 30 days or more, making it the longest in history if it exceeds the 35-day shutdowns of 2018 and 2019.

White House officials have said there could be thousands of permanent layoffs, but have not specified the timing of the dismissals or which government services would be affected.

The layoffs would come at a time when the job market is already in the midst of a noted slowdown. The economy lost jobs in June for the first time in over four years, and added fewer than forecasters had expected in July and August. Officials at the Federal Reserve, concerned about the possibility of a wave of layoffs, initiated a campaign of rate cuts in September to boost the economy and encourage hiring.

A fresh round of federal layoffs is not guaranteed to happen. The layoff threat could prove to be just a negotiation tactic, or the two sides could reach a deal before the firings are implemented. Even if they did happen, they would likely face court challenges from workers, similar to how courts have thwarted some of the Trump Administration's efforts to fire federal workers through the DOGE task force, John Ryding and Conrad DeQuadros, economists at Brean Capital, wrote in a research note.

So far, financial markets have largely brushed off concerns about the damage from the shutdown, with the S&P 500 stock index up roughly 1.4% over the last five days.

Still, the firing threat adds an element of chaos to a showdown that could deepen the gloom of already pessimistic consumers.

Shutdowns typically leave consumers pessimistic about the economy and their own financial situation. Economists expect consumer sentiment surveys in the coming weeks to be among the worst readings ever, as consumers have already been growing increasingly worried about tariffs, inflation, and the weak job market. Forecasters at Deutsche Bank said it's likely the University of Michigan's Survey of Consumers index will break a record low when it's released Friday.