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Megacap tech and the AI trade power US stocks to fresh records

The S&P 500 rose 0.5%, the Nasdaq 100 was up 0.8%, and the Russell 2000 advanced 0.3% on Monday.

9/15/25 4:28PM

The Magnificent 7 and most stocks in the AI ecosystem (with the exception of Nvidia) did the lion’s work in propelling the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 to another day of record closing highs.

The benchmark US stock index rose 0.5%, the tech-heavy gauge was up 0.8%, and the Russell 2000 advanced 0.3% on Monday.

Communications services, tech, and consumer discretionary (the sectors home to the Magnificent 7) were the top-performing S&P 500 sector ETFs, while defensive sectors like consumer staples and healthcare were at the bottom of the leaderboard.

Gains on the day were led by Seagate Technology, which jumped 7.8% after Bank of America boosted its price target on the stock to $215 from $170. Western Digital shares were also up 4.8%. Corteva and J.M. Smucker were among the biggest decliners, falling 5.7% and 5.1%, respectively. Elsewhere…

Alphabet popped 4.5% to become the fourth company to surpass a $3 trillion market cap, joining Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple.

Tesla jumped 3.6% after CEO Elon Musk disclosed a purchase of 2.57 million shares, worth over $1 billion, according to a new SEC filing.

CoreWeave climbed 7.6% after striking an agreement with Nvidia, which will purchase all of CoreWeave’s unused cloud computing capacity through April 2032.

Intel rose 2.9% after the chip giant trimmed its full-year operating expense forecast to $16.8 billion from $17 billion.

IonQ shares gained 6.3% after a wave of analyst price target hikes followed its Analyst Day event at the New York Stock Exchange on Friday.

Chinese EV maker Nio leapt 4.2% after announcing that deliveries of its ES8 SUV — priced to compete with Tesla’s Model Y — will begin this weekend.

Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation rose 0.8% and 4.5%, respectively, after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced a new FAA pilot program to speed up “advanced air mobility” development.

Novo Nordisk edged up 1.4% after European regulators approved its diabetes pill for cardiovascular benefits as well.

Snap and Meta shook off early declines to close higher after President Trump hinted on Truth Social that a TikTok deal had been reached, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later confirming the framework of an agreement had been achieved.

Alaska Air fell 6.7% after warning that Q3 profits will likely come in at the low end of its prior outlook.

Hims & Hers slipped 2.8% after FDA Commissioner Marty Makary called its February Super Bowl ad the “most overt” example of “brazen” online pharmacy marketing tactics.

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).
Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

Megacap tech and the AI trade power US stocks to fresh records

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