The market kicked off strongly on Monday, Oct. 27. The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq composite climbed up 1.5% for the day. Nvidia announced domestic manufacturing of its latest artificial intelligence chips in Arizona. The firm revealed a $1 billion stake in Nokia Corp. to build out U.S.-based 5G/6G networking infrastructure, approaching the goal of U.S. onshoring manufacturing and next-gen connectivity.
On Tuesday, Oct. 28, U.S. indices edged higher as investors leaned into optimism around policy and trade. The S&P 500 held near recent highs, while the Dow and the Nasdaq posted modest gains. Gold prices dropped as spot gold slid below $4,000 an ounce amid hopes of a thaw in the U.S.–China trade tensions and a stronger U.S. dollar.
Major tech companies reported earnings: Amazon reported Q3 2025 revenue of $178 billion slightly above the $177.7 billion estimate, thanks to robust performance in its AWS cloud segment and advertising business. Apple posted revenue of $89 billion, roughly in line with consensus, but its EPS of $1.43 missed estimates as iPhone sales softened and foreign-exchange headwinds weighed on margins. Still, its Services segment grew over 14% year over year.
On Wednesday, Oct. 29, the Dow slipped about 0.2%, the S&P 500 finished flat and the Nasdaq rose around 0.5%. The Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark funds rate by 25 basis points, bringing the target range between 3.75% and 4.00%, in response to signs of a cooling labor market and slowing job growth. Officials noted that inflation remains sticky and the economy is facing headwinds, but they also made clear that a further cut in December is not guaranteed.
The U.S. market pulled back as the week’s optimism ran into mixed signals on Thursday, Oct. 30. The S&P 500 dropped 1.0%, the Dow slipped 0.2% and the Nasdaq fell 1.6%. Google reported Q3 2025 revenue of $89.5 billion, beating estimates of $88.3 billion. The upside was driven by strong ad demand and a 27% jump in Google Cloud revenue, reflecting a robust AI-related enterprise adoption. Microsoft delivered revenue of $65.8 billion below the $66.2 billion estimate.
President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s meeting resulted in a one-year agreement on rare-earth export controls and a reduction in planned U.S. tariffs on fentanyl.
The week closed on a positive note with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posting solid gains, while the Dow showed modest improvement. Weekly earnings reports highlighted that many tech firms reiterated strong capex plans, especially in AI, data centers and telecom infrastructure.
Halloween caused a chocolate inflation: rising commodity and labor costs in the candy supply chain squeezed margins for consumer goods.
