Wall Street extended its record-breaking run this week, driven by surging investor confidence in Federal Reserve rate cuts and expectations of robust growth by AI-driven companies.
- VOO ETF is trading at record highs. Check the chart here.
Despite rising inflation and growing cracks in the labor market, traders are placing firm bets on a series of lower interest rates. August brought a fresh rise in annual inflation, which rose to 2.9%, the highest level since January.
However, a concurrent rise in jobless claims—263,000 in the first week of September—marked the worst weekly print since October 2021. After a flat August payrolls report, it’s becoming clear the labor market is losing steam.
Markets are now fully pricing in a 25-basis-point rate cut at the Fed's upcoming September 17 meeting, with speculators already eyeing additional cuts in October and December.
Oracle Corp. (NYSE:ORCL) took the crown as the week's top-performing S&P 500 stock. The Austin-based software company posted weaker-than-expected earnings and revenue for the quarter, but markets shrugged that off in favor of a surprise boom in cloud AI orders.
The stock jumped 36% in a single session on Wednesday, Oracle's best daily rally since December 1992. CEO Larry Ellison personally reaped the rewards. His net worth spiked by $100 billion in just one day, briefly overtaking Elon Musk as the world's richest man—albeit for a few hours.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) disappointed markets during its “Awe Dropping” event unveiling the iPhone 17, with shares sliding 3.2%—the stock's worst day since May. Investors appeared underwhelmed by the lack of breakthrough features in the new phone.
Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) saw its stock rise following the launch of a new global marketing campaign titled "Ready, Set, Ford." The campaign aims to reposition Ford as a lifestyle brand and shine a light on its commercial vehicle and motorsport segments, which it believes are underappreciated. Ford shares reacted positively to the campaign.
Year-to-date, the stock is up 18%, outperforming the S&P 500 by five percentage points. That's a rare beat for the automaker, which has underperformed the broader market in 11 of the past 12 years, with the exception of its 2021 rally.
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