Record Highs for Major Stock Indexes as Chip Makers Soar

Market Overview - The S&P 500 Index is up +0.67%, the Dow Jones Industrials Index is up +0.46%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index is up +1.19% [1] - September E-mini S&P futures are up +0.63%, and September E-mini Nasdaq futures are up +1.19% [1] Economic Indicators - Weekly initial unemployment claims fell by -33,000 to 231,000, indicating a stronger labor market than the expected 240,000 [4] - The September Philadelphia Fed business outlook survey rose by +23.5 to an 8-month high of 23.2, surpassing expectations of 1.7 [4] - August leading indicators fell -0.5% month-over-month, worse than the expected -0.2% [5] Federal Reserve Actions - The Fed cut interest rates by 25 basis points and signaled another 50 basis points of rate cuts by the end of the year [3][8] - Markets are pricing in an 86% chance of a 25 basis points rate cut at the next FOMC meeting on October 28-29 [5] Stock Movements - Intel surged by +25% after Nvidia agreed to invest $5 billion in the company for co-developing chips [2][11] - CrowdStrike Home is up more than +10% following a positive investor briefing on its AI strategy [12] - 89bio increased by +86% after Roche announced its acquisition for $3.5 billion [12] - Darden Restaurants is down more than -9% after forecasting adjusted EPS below consensus [14] - ARM Holdings is down more than -4% following Nvidia's investment in Intel [15]