Nasdaq Hits All-Time High as Tech Stocks Surge Despite Rising Yields

The Nasdaq Composite reached a new all-time high on Monday, climbing 1.05% to an intraday record of 27,544.07. The rally was driven by gains in technology and artificial intelligence-related stocks, despite rising US Treasury yields. Major players like Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla contributed to the index's advance, with SpaceX jumping nearly 6%. The broader market also saw gains, with the S&P 500 rising about 0.7% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average adding nearly 0.2%.

The market's upward momentum came amid rising Treasury yields, with the 10-year yield climbing more than nine basis points to 5.349% and the 30-year yield increasing about seven basis points to 5.703%. Investors are weighing the possibility that inflation could keep interest rates higher for longer, pushing yields to multiyear highs. Despite this, tech stocks remained attractive, with investors looking ahead to the Federal Reserve’s September meeting minutes and the start of third-quarter earnings season.

The Institute for Supply Management’s services-sector report showed the Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 54.9 in September, slightly below the previous month’s reading but in line with expectations. Meanwhile, oil prices declined, with Brent crude futures falling more than 1.9% to $100.30 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate crude dropping about 2% to $89.29. The move in oil prices provided additional support for investor sentiment following weaker-than-expected US employment data.

Investors are now focusing on the upcoming earnings season, with analysts expecting S&P 500 earnings to increase more than 30% year over year, largely driven by AI-related companies. Other notable moves included PTC surging after a $22.6 billion acquisition deal and RXO advancing following a $5.8 billion acquisition agreement. Additionally, Cerebras Systems gained after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman highlighted the company as a close partner.