4:15pm: Stocks, gold soar
Tech stocks drove the Nasdaq to an all-time high on Wednesday, with the index up 1.1% at 23,043 points – closing above 23,000 for the first time.
The S&P 500 added 0.6% at 6,753 points while the Dow Jones was flat at 46,601 points.
Gold continued its gains, adding 1.5% to trade above $4,060 per ounce.
3:47pm: Small cap wrap
- Arizona Gold & Silver Inc (TSX-V:AZS, OTCQB:AZASF) has reported high-grade antimony results from its Silverton gold-antimony project in Nye County, Nevada.
- Lisata Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:LSTA) announced that it has entered into a global product license agreement with Catalent, which would allow Catalent to incorporate Lisata's certepetide into antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) developed using Catalent’s SMARTag technology platform.
- Gunnison Copper Corp (TSX:GCU, OTCQB:GCUMF) has announced preliminary results from an independent Economic Impact Study conducted by the Eller Partnerships Office at the University of Arizona, projecting multi-billion-dollar economic benefits associated with the company’s Gunnison Copper Project in southern Arizona.
- First Phosphate Corp. (CSE:PHOS, OTCQX:FRSPF) announced that the Honourable Timothy Hodgson, Canada's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, MP Claude Guay, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, and Members of Parliament (MPs) Mario Simard and Richard Martel visited the planned site of the company’s future phosphoric acid plant at Port Saguenay in Quebec on October 4, 2025, during Minister Hodgson and Parliamentary Secretary Guay's tour of the region.
- GoviEx Uranium Inc (TSX-V:GXU, OTCQB:GVXXF) announced that shareholders of Tombador Iron Limited have approved all resolutions required to move forward with the proposed reverse takeover of Tombador by GoviEx.
- Alvopetro Energy Ltd (TSX-V:ALV, OTC:ALVOF) has reported average September sales volumes of 2,231 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), alongside updates on its natural gas pricing, a non-core asset sale in Brazil, and expansion of its exploration portfolio in Western Canada.
- Bit Digital Inc (NASDAQ:BTBT) announced that it acquired 653 Ethereum (ETH) in September 2025.
2:57pm: Market movers
- Dell Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:DELL)'s investor event struck a “constructive” tone on the company’s demand outlook, market share positioning and earnings growth expectations, according to analysts at Citi. Shares added almost 8% on the update.
- Joby Aviation Inc (NYSE:JOBY) shares slid nearly 11% to $16.90 after the electric air taxi developer priced its previously announced underwritten equity offering at $16.85 per share.
- Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) shares came under pressure after it was revealed that the firm has significant exposure to the bankrupt auto parts supplier First Brands, with estimates of potential losses around $161 million.
- AST SpaceMobile Inc (NASDAQ:ASTS) shares surged more than 8% after it announced a definitive commercial agreement with Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ, ETR:BAC) to provide space-based cellular broadband services across the continental United States, with service expected to begin in 2026.
2:32pm: More rate cuts to come
Most Federal Reserve officials expect to lower interest rates again this year amid growing concerns about a cooling labor market and easing inflation pressures, according to minutes from the central bank’s September meeting released Wednesday.
The minutes showed that “most judged that it likely would be appropriate to ease policy further over the remainder of this year,” as downside risks to employment have increased while inflation risks have diminished.
At the September 16–17 meeting, the Fed cut its key rate by a quarter-point to a range of 4% to 4.25%, the first reduction of 2025.
Policymakers said job growth had slowed and unemployment had edged higher, while inflation appeared to have stabilized somewhat above the Fed’s 2% target.
The document underscored divisions within the 19-member committee.
While most supported the cut, a few argued for holding rates steady to avoid reigniting inflation, and one member, Governor Stephen Miran, dissented in favor of a larger half-point cut, citing “further softening in the labor market.”
Markets are pricing in at least two more rate cuts before the year-end, according to surveys cited in the minutes.
But with a federal government shutdown halting key economic data, including the September jobs and inflation reports, the Fed may face added uncertainty heading into its next policy meeting later this month.
12:39pm: No 'AI bubble' yet, says Goldman Sachs
As investors increasingly focus on whether the technology sector is entering an AI bubble, Goldman Sachs analysts say current market conditions do not yet point to a dramatic re-rating of technology stocks.
Following the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference in September and recent company announcements on long-term AI capacity, the firm’s Technology, Media, and Telecom research team examined adoption trends, capital deployment, energy requirements, and broader market dynamics.
In a note to clients, Goldman highlighted that “identifying and calling out a bubble has been a historically difficult dynamic for public market analysts and investors.”
The analysts noted some parallels to the late 1990s, including rising private valuations, intra-industry capital deployment, and stock performance anchored on a single theme.
However, Goldman wrote that factors including lower levels of public market IPOs, scrutiny of AI returns, valuations below late 1990s peaks, and significant profit and capital deployment argue against a current bubble scenario.
The firm concluded, “We continue to monitor levels of technology adoption, technology spend, and their collective impact on the industry/market framing, but don’t see the signs today for any such dramatic re-rating” like those experienced in the early 2000s or during the 2007–2008 market downturns.
11:42am: Investors brush off shutdown
The US government shutdown, now on its eighth day, has done little to dampen sentiment on Wall Street.
With no sign of resolution, stocks continue to ignore the standoff, according to IG chief market analyst Chris Beachamp.
“Nvidia’s bullish commentary on demand has been the icing on the cake, but for most investors concerns about tariffs and inflation seem very distant,” Beauchamp said.
“Perhaps today’s Fed minutes will change that, but beyond that investors can look towards the start of another earnings season that is expected to deliver further strong earnings growth.”
10:45am: Stock rally is back on
The US stock rally resumed on Wednesday as investors cast aside concerns about AI profitability.
Kathleen Brooks, XTB research director, said concerns about AI companies all investing in each other creating a fragile circular ecosystem, appear to be put to bed for now.
“However, if we see another OpenAI/ AMD style deal announced in the coming days and weeks, it is worth watching how the market reacts,” Brooks wrote.
“The AI trade could be in a bubble, but we don’t think it will end any time soon. The next stage of the AI trade could be more volatile, as results and financing deals garner more criticism.”
Gold remains the ultimate hedge, Brooks added.
“Interestingly, with no long-term solution to the French fiscal crisis, and with warnings about the AI trade being in a bubble and a threat to financial market stability, the gold price is acting like the ultimate hedge, and it is maintaining gains above $4,040 per ounce as we progress through Wednesday,” she wrote.
9:55am: Nasdaq and S&P open higher
It's been a mixed start on Wall Street.
On one side, the Dow Jones dropped 0.2%, and on the other, the S&P 500 rose 0.15% and the Nasdaq was up 0.45%.
A key driver of the gains is Nvidia is up almost 2%, boosting the latter, though half the Mag 7 tech giants are in the red.
Earlier, CEO Jensen Huang said demand for the company’s new Blackwell chips is "really, really high" as data centre 'hyperscalers' and enterprise clients seek its greater efficiency for AI training.
Dragging down the Dow, there are falls for Salesforce, IBM, Goldman Sachs, Chevron and Coca Cola.
8:02am: Rebound for New York stocks on the cards
A slight rebound was on the cards for Wall Street equities on Wednesday, while the dollar rose close to a two month high and Federal Reserve meeting minutes took on newfound importance.
Dow Jones futures were up 0.2%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures were slightly lagging, up around 0.1%
The previous session saw sellers outnumber buyers, reversing a positive start that saw new intraday records set, as the negative momentum was set by the tech-heavy Nasdaq's 0.7% decline, while the S&P dropped 0.4% and the Dow 0.2%.
Tesla led losses for the Mag Seven tech giant, down 4.45%, with Amazon the only member of the group not to lose ground on the day.
On Wednesday morning, the dollar index was higher for the third consecutive session, up 0.3% to 98.8, rallying to the highest since August 11, three weeks after breaking below 96 to hit its lowest level in over three and a half years.
WTI crude oil futures were 1.1% higher at $62.41.
With the US shutdown rumbling on, markets were "largely unperturbed at the uncertainty that comes as a result", said Josh Mahony at Scope Markets.
"Tomorrow’s jobless claims data looks unlikely to hit the newswires, with today’s FOMC minutes instead taking on a key role."
He said some of the heat has come out of the market after the early record highs seen in the Nasdaq the day before.
Comments Minneapolis Fed chief Neel Kashkari, warning that rapid rate cuts would risk stoking inflation, were among the factors taking the sting out.
This was balanced by Trump’s new man in the FOMC, Stephen Miran, who instead calling for five cuts over the course of next year.
"That is some way away from the single 25bp cut outlined in the latest Federal Dot Plot. With the committee taking increasingly divergent views, and Trump expected set to appoint a new Chair in May, the pathway for rates over the course of 2026 remains anything but clear right now," said Mahony.
Elsewhere, traders were still pointing to reports that Oracle is losing money on some of its chip rental deal with Nvidia that stoked worries about an AI bubble.
Goldman Sachs said high valuations in the AI space does "are becoming stretched but not yet at levels consistent with historical bubbles", though conceded that "valuations of the technology sector are becoming stretched".
The equity market is showing "elements of investor behaviour and market pricing currently that rhyme with previous bubbles" but argued that the current technology rally has "been driven by fundamental growth rather than irrational speculation".
The bank added that the big tech companies that have seen the strongest returns "have unusually strong balance sheets" and that "the AI space has, so far, been dominated by a few incumbents," rather than a flood of new entrants that has characterised bubbles in the past.
Across the pond, the Bank of England felt "the risk of a sharp market correction has increased" globally, and that if the US Federal Reserve loses credibility in the eyes of global investors it could lead to a "sharp repricing of US dollar assets".
In company news, AST SpaceMobile Inc (NASDAQ:ASTS) shares rocketed 13% higher after Verizon signed a deal for a cellular service from space.