The three major indexes on Wall Street set record highs for a second straight day. Optimism grew after the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) began its first interest rate cut of the year and U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a positive conversation.
On the 19th (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 172.85 points, or 0.37%, at 46,315.27. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 rose 32.40 points, or 0.49%, to 6,664.36, and the Nasdaq composite added 160.75 points, or 0.72%, to finish at 22,631.48.
All three major indexes also hit record highs on a closing basis. The Russell 2000, which is weighted toward small- and mid-cap stocks, hit an intraday record and then fell 0.77% as selling picked up.
Mikke Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide, said, "September has historically seen stock prices fall, but this year's market broke that pattern," and noted, "That said, with the S&P 500 trading at 22 times 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio (PER) and volatility suppressed, pullbacks or choppiness would be a normal and healthy development."
Trump and Xi spoke in a positive atmosphere and agreed to hold a summit in October, easing some caution. The two leaders agreed to meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Gyeongju, Korea, in October.
Although there are thorny issues such as fentanyl and tariffs that are hard for the two countries to agree on, agreeing to a summit is interpreted to mean they have reached consensus on at least some agenda items. Even if core issues such as trade negotiations and tariffs are not resolved, a summit could send a surface-level signal that bilateral relations have improved.
By sector, technology rose 1.19% while energy fell 1.28%.
Among the mega-cap tech firms with market capitalization above $1 trillion, all gained except Broadcom and Meta. Alphabet's Class A and Class C shares both climbed more than 1%, bringing its market capitalization at the close to $3.308 trillion. This was the first time Alphabet's market cap topped $3 trillion on a closing basis.
Apple jumped 3.20% as the latest iPhone 17 began sales worldwide and price hikes were expected to boost revenue.
Oracle caught its breath for a while after a large supply deal with OpenAI, then surged more than 4% to resume its uptrend.
By contrast, Intel, which had soared 22% the previous day, fell more than 3%. Citi's downgrade of Intel's rating to sell from neutral weighed on shares.
Meanwhile, Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, said two additional rate cuts this year would be appropriate, explaining that monetary policy likely was not as restrictive as previously understood.
According to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) FedWatch tool, the federal funds futures market is pricing a 91.9% probability of a 25-basis-point cut in October. That was unchanged from late the previous session. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) Volatility Index (VIX) slipped 0.25 point, or 1.59%, to 15.45.