Wall Street edges higher and pushes S&P 500 to another record
[August 28, 2025] By
ALEX VEIGA
Modest gains on Wall Street lifted the stock market to an all-time high
Wednesday ahead of a highly anticipated earnings update from computer
chip giant Nvidia.
The S&P 500 rose 0.2%, good enough to nudge the benchmark index past the
record high it set two weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose
0.3% and the Nasdaq composite closed 0.2% higher.
Technology companies led the way higher, outweighing declines in
communication services and other sectors.
After the market closed, Nvidia reported quarterly earnings and revenue
that topped Wall Street analysts' forecasts, though the company noted
that sales of its artificial intelligence chipsets rose at a slower pace
than analysts anticipated. The stock fell 3.2% in after-hours trading
after having slipped 0.1% during the regular session.
Investors consider Nvidia a barometer for the strength of the boom in
artificial intelligence because the company makes most of the chips that
power the technology. Its heavy weighting also gives Nvidia outsized
influence as a bellwether for the broader market.
“Saying this is the most important stock in the world is an
understatement,” said Jay Woods, chief global strategist at Freedom
Capital Markets. “The stock’s average move after an earnings release is
plus or minus 7.4%, so just an average move will make an impact on the
entire market.”
Several big software companies -- CrowdStrike Holdings, ServiceNow, Palo
Alto Networks, Intuit and Salesforce -- rose ahead of the Nvidia
results.

The stocks have been mostly in the red so far this quarter amid worries
that AI is going to make software creation much easier at the expense of
big software companies’ competitive edge.
Cracker Barrel shares climbed 8% after the restaurant company scrapped
plans to change its logo following an uproar on social media that even
drew a comment from President Donald Trump.
Shares in several companies rose after they reported quarterly results
that topped analysts' forecasts. Department store chain Kohl’s vaulted
24% and database platform company MongoDB surged 38%. Both companies
also raised their full-year guidance.
J.M. Smucker slid 4.4% after the jelly and jam maker's latest quarterly
snapshot fell short of analysts’ estimates.
Among other stocks that lost ground: doughnut shop chain Krispy Kreme,
which fell 3.5%, and Paramount Skydance, which dropped 6.5% for the
biggest decline among S&P 500 companies.
Treasury yields mostly fell in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year
Treasury slipped to 4.24% from 4.26% late Tuesday.
Crude oil prices rose. European markets finished mostly lower and Asian
markets closed mixed overnight.
Trading on Wall Street is off to an uneven start this week following big
gains last week on hopes for interest rate cuts from the Fed.
Markets have been subdued after Trump escalated his fight with the
central bank by trying to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.
Cook's lawyer said she'll sue Trump’s administration to try to stop him.
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Trader Patrick Casey works on the floor of the New York Stock
Exchange, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
 Trump has been feuding with the
central bank over its cautious interest rate policy. The Fed has
held rates steady since late 2024 over worries that Trump's
unpredictable tariff policies will reignite inflation. Trump has
also threatened to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, often taunting him
with name-calling. Still, he is only one of 12 votes that decides
interest rate policy.
For now, the situation isn't expected to have a major impact on the
Fed's near-term policy.
The two-year Treasury yield, which closely tracks expectations for
Federal Reserve action, dropped to 3.62% from 3.68%.
Traders are still betting the Fed will trim its benchmark interest
rate at its next meeting in September. Traders see an 90.3% chance
that the central bank will cut the rate by a quarter of a percentage
point, according to data from CME Group.
“It’s kind of a foregone conclusion from the market that we’re going
to get the September interest rate cut,” said Jed Ellerbroek,
portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management. “The bigger question
is probably 'What’s after that?' ”
The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate in late 2024
after spending the last several years fighting rising inflation by
raising rates. It managed to mostly tame inflation and avoided
having those higher rates stall economic growth, thanks largely to
strong consumer spending and a resilient job market.
The Fed hit the pause button heading into 2025 over concerns that
higher tariffs imposed by Trump could reignite inflation. Lower
interest rates make borrowing easier, helping to spur more
investment and spending, but that could also potentially fuel
inflation. However, concerns are deepening over the jobs market.
Economic data is relatively light this week until Friday, which will
bring another update on inflation: the U.S. personal consumption
expenditures index. Economists expect it to show that inflation
remained at about 2.9% in July, compared with a year ago. Businesses
have been warning investors and consumers about higher costs and
prices because of tariffs.

Steep tariffs placed by the Trump administration on India over
Russian oil purchases took effect Wednesday, bringing the combined
tariffs imposed on the U.S. ally to 50%.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 15.46 points to 6,481.40. The Dow added
147.16 points to 45,565.23, and the Nasdaq climbed 45.87 points to
21,590.14.
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