The S&P 500 is an index that tracks 500 large US companies. It closed at a record 7,818.93 on October 6, up 0.58%. It was the index's first record close since August. Chipmakers and a nuclear power company led the gain.
A bond's yield is the interest rate it pays. Yields on US government bonds, called Treasurys, eased on October 6. The drop followed the 10-year Treasury yield's highest close in 24 years. Shares of smaller companies fell the same day, so the gain was narrow.
Bar chart of day changes for major stock indexes in the US, Europe and Asia, with Asian closes from October 5
Chips and nuclear power carried the record
Shares of Nvidia and AMD closed at all-time highs, the highest prices they have ever reached. AMD chief executive Lisa Su said "demand for compute continues to outrun supply." Compute means the processing power that AI systems run on.
Marvell Technology designs chips for data centers. Revenue is the money a company takes in from sales. A fiscal year is the 12-month period a company uses for its accounts. On October 6, Marvell raised its revenue forecast for fiscal 2028 to $20 billion. Its prior estimate was $18 billion. Analysts, who study companies for investors, had expected $18.2 billion. Marvell set its first target for fiscal 2031: $70 billion to $90 billion.
Bar chart comparing Marvell's fiscal 2028 revenue figures: prior estimate $18 billion, analyst expectation $18.2 billion, new outlook $20 billion
AI data centers need electricity too. Google signed a $4.3 billion, 20-year deal to buy nuclear power from Constellation Energy. Under the deal, Constellation will bring 890 megawatts online by upgrading six existing plants. The plants sit in Illinois, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The two companies agreed to a separate 15-year supply deal for another 2.7 gigawatts. Constellation shares climbed more than 12%. Shares of Alphabet, Google's parent, were flat, with little change on the day.
The Nasdaq Composite is an index weighted toward tech companies. It rose 0.45% to 27,599.79, its second record close in a row. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, another index of large US companies, rose 0.49%.
Small companies fell behind
The Russell 2000, an index of smaller US companies, fell 0.59% on October 6. It has lost 4.39% over the past month. The S&P 500 gained 1.89% over the same month. Smaller firms tend to lean more on borrowed money. High interest rates weigh on them as a result.
The S&P 500 weights each company by its market value, the total worth of its shares. A few giant companies move the index. Nvidia, Apple and Microsoft make up over 21% of it. The 10 largest companies account for about 40% of its weight. Ten years earlier, that share was about 19%. At the end of 2025, those 10 held about 40% of the weight. They produced around 32% of the index's earnings, meaning its profits.
The VIX measures how large traders expect stock swings to be. It fell 3.29% to 15.01. A lower reading means traders are paying less to insure their stocks against a drop.
Bond yields eased from a 24-year high
The 10-year Treasury yield is the interest rate the US government pays to borrow for 10 years. It fell 4.2 basis points to 5.269% on October 6. One hundred basis points make one percentage point. The drop followed the yield's highest close in 24 years. Bond prices move opposite to yields, so bond prices rose a little.
Line chart of the US 10-year Treasury yield over the past month, ending at 5.269% on October 6
Over the past month, the 10-year yield rose 46.3 basis points. The 30-year yield sat at 5.64%, near its highest level since 2002. Higher yields make borrowing more expensive for households and companies. They give savers an alternative to stocks.
Service businesses reported that the prices they pay are rising faster. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) runs the survey. Its services prices index tracks the prices those businesses pay. The index rose to 74.0 in September from 72.6 in August. That is its highest reading since July 2022. The wider ISM services index tracks business activity. It came in at 54.9%. That marked the 27th month in a row of growth for service businesses.
The Federal Reserve, or Fed, is the US central bank. Rising prices leave a Fed rate rise on the table. Polymarket is a site where people bet on events. Traders there put a 19.5% chance on a 25 basis point rate rise at the Fed's October 27-28 meeting. Employers added jobs at a slower pace than expected in September, according to the jobs report. After that report, investors cut back their bets on a rate rise this month.
Notes are a type of government bond. The Treasury sold $58 billion of 3-year notes on October 6 at a yield of 4.932%. Investors bid for 2.62 times the amount on offer. That is near the average of 2.65, a sign of normal demand.
Europe rose as French debt worries eased
The STOXX 600, a broad index of European stocks, rose 0.48%. Germany's main index, the DAX, gained 0.77%. France's CAC 40 rose 0.40%. The UK's FTSE 100 added 0.42%. Among industry groups, health care stocks gained the most, followed by media and banks.
France provided the main relief. The spread is the extra interest France pays over Germany to borrow for 10 years. It narrowed to 127 basis points. In recent trading days it had been above 150 basis points. French government bonds did better than the rest of the bond market. The euro rose 0.41% to $1.1263.
Investors stayed calm despite weak German data. Factory orders in Germany fell 10.6% in August. Economists had expected a 1% fall. Orders had risen 2.5% the month before.
Asia traded before the US session
Our latest Asian figures come from trading that ended before Wall Street opened. Japan's main index, the Nikkei 225, rose 2.40% to 69,946.86 on October 5. During that day's trading, it crossed 70,000 for the first time in three months. AI and chip stocks led the move. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.28% that day. India's Nifty 50 rose 0.60%. The Shanghai Composite last traded on September 30. South Korea's KOSPI last traded on October 2.
Oil rose despite a reserve release
Brent crude, the main global reference price for oil, rose 0.83% to $101.15 a barrel. WTI, the main US reference price, rose 0.54% to $89.91. Oil ended higher despite news of more supply.
The G7, a group of seven large economies, agreed to release 100 million barrels of crude and diesel. The oil will come from emergency reserves, stockpiles kept for a crisis. Gulf oil exports, excluding Iran, recovered to over 81% of pre-war levels in September. Saudi Arabia cut its November prices for buyers in Asia.
Some news pointed to tighter supply. According to shipping data, attacks on tankers near the Strait of Hormuz grew more frequent in recent days. Iranian exports stayed at zero under a US blockade. Talks between the US and Iran remained stalled.
Dollar, gold and bitcoin
The US Dollar Index tracks the dollar against a basket of major currencies. It slipped 0.30% to 101.862. One dollar bought 158.09 yen, little changed on the day. Gold rose 0.86% to $4,192.70 an ounce. Bitcoin, a digital currency, edged down 0.23% to $85,590.
Dates to watch
- October 7: The Treasury auctions 10-year notes at 1:01 p.m. ET. The Fed releases minutes of its September 15-16 meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET. Minutes are the written record of a meeting.
- October 8: The European Central Bank (ECB) publishes its meeting accounts, a written summary of its talks, at 7:30 a.m. ET. US weekly jobless claims come at 8:30 a.m. ET. They count new filings for unemployment benefits. The Treasury auctions 30-year bonds at 1:01 p.m. ET.
- October 9: The University of Michigan releases its preliminary October consumer sentiment reading at 10:00 a.m. ET. This early survey result shows how consumers feel about the economy.
- October 13: JPMorgan Chase reports third-quarter results at about 6:45 a.m. ET. It is the first big US bank to report.
- October 14: The US releases its consumer price index for September at 12:30 UTC. The index measures inflation, the rise in prices.
- October 27-28: The Federal Reserve holds its policy meeting, where it sets interest rates.
Reading a record day
A record in the S&P 500 can sit alongside losses in much of the market. On October 6, chipmakers and Constellation Energy drove most of the gain. A fund that tracks the Russell 2000 lost 0.59% on the same day.
An S&P 500 index fund holds the stocks in the index. It puts about 40% of its money in 10 companies. Its record says more about those companies than about the average stock.
Interest rates affect big and small companies alike. The bond auctions, the Fed minutes and the September inflation report are scheduled. Each will give investors new information on rates.
Sources
- thestreet.com
- finance.yahoo.com
- finance.yahoo.com
- gurufocus.com
- benzinga.com
- prnewswire.com
- helious.io
- boereport.com
- newsquawk.com
- asia.nikkei.com
- investinglive.com
- scanx.trade
- thriveinmarkets.com
- riotimesonline.com
- blog.firstrade.com
Not investment advice.