Stock Market Record Highs

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite reached new all-time highs on Monday, September 15, 2025, at approximately 8:00 PM UTC, fueled by positive developments in US-China trade negotiations, anticipation of the Federal Reserve’s upcoming decision, and a significant surge in Tesla’s stock price. This bullish sentiment impacted major indices, although the breadth of the market rally showed some divergence between mega-cap and smaller-cap stocks.

The S&P 500 closed up +0.47%, reaching a new all-time high of 6628 on CFDs as of early September 16, according to Trading Economics. The Nasdaq Composite mirrored this positive performance, closing up +0.94% at a record high. Trading Economics also reported that the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained +0.11%. While the Russell 2000’s performance wasn’t explicitly detailed for this period, the broader market gains suggest that smaller-cap stocks underperformed their larger counterparts. Trading Economics provides the broader market index data.

President Donald Trump’s indication of progress in US-China trade talks significantly boosted investor risk appetite. This positive news added to the already heightened anticipation surrounding the Federal Reserve’s decision on Wednesday, September 17, where a 25 basis point rate cut is widely expected. This pre-Fed consolidation period contributed to the overall positive sentiment. Trading Economics summarizes these market-moving developments.

The rally was primarily driven by mega-cap technology stocks. While market breadth was positive, the gains were not as pronounced among smaller-cap companies, suggesting a degree of sector-specific strength. Trading Economics details the sector performance and breadth of the market. Tesla (TSLA) was a notable single-stock mover, surging +3.6% after Elon Musk announced a nearly $1 billion stock purchase – his largest-ever open-market buy. Trading Economics reported on this significant transaction and its market impact.

Conversely, Nvidia (NVDA) saw a slight decrease of -0.04% following allegations of anti-monopoly violations by Chinese regulators. While this news might have negatively impacted sentiment towards some US tech stocks, the broader market largely shrugged off this development. Trading Economics provides context and further details on this.

Although US Treasury yields weren’t specifically reported for this period, the robust equity gains and the pre-Fed positioning suggest that yields likely remained steady or experienced a slight decrease as traders awaited greater clarity on monetary policy. The strong equity performance generally indicates a reduced demand for safe-haven assets like Treasuries.

Investors are now keenly focused on the Federal Reserve’s announcement on September 17, anticipating signals from Chair Powell regarding future rate cuts and the overall direction of monetary policy. Trading Economics points to this as a key focus for market participants.

The data cited is aggregated from Bloomberg and Reuters via Trading Economics. Trading Economics serves as the primary source for this report.

CTA
Stay ahead of the market with our AI-powered finance news platform. We continuously scan and verify trusted sources to surface the most important developments from the last 12 hours, distilled into clear takeaways. Bookmark this page, enable alerts, or follow our channels to get timely updates as they break.