The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both dipped around midday Wednesday, while Bitcoin surpassed $113,800 at last check.
Summary
- Major U.S. indexes slipped at midday: Nasdaq -0.53%, S&P 500 -0.37%, Dow Jones -0.17%.
- Alibaba jumped 7.34% after unveiling plans to exceed its $50B AI spending budget, fueling Wall Street optimism on AI.
- Micron fell 3.9% despite beating earnings, while gold held record highs and cryptocurrencies stalled.
Bitcoin (BTC) swung near the $113,800 price level, according to CoinGecko. See below.
Source: CoinGecko
- Nasdaq is down 0.53% in midday trading.
- The benchmark index S&P 500 is down 0.37%.
- The blue chip index Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 0.17%.
Stocks showed bulls were set for another big day as Wall Street cheered fresh artificial intelligence-related news from Alibaba (BABA), which rallied 7.34% at last check on Wednesday.
The Alibaba stock soared more than 9% in premarket trading and extended the gains as traders bet on AI spending budget. While it planned to spent $50 billion on AI initiatives, Alibaba says it will go beyond this in a push to keep pace with competitors.
And Micron Technology (MU), despite surpassing Wall Street’s expectations in its latest earnings report, dipped 3.9% at the time of reporting.
Meanwhile, gold held at record highs while top cryptocurrencies stalled.
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Wall Street also eyes inflation report
Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell spoke this week, days after the U.S. central bank cut its interest rate by 25 basis points.
While investors have priced in more cuts in 2025, Powell’s speech indicated the Fed remains largely cautious. His remarks also alluded to the stock market’s rally as one that sees stocks “fairly highly valued.”
Although the major indices are near record highs, Wall Street’s immediate attention is on the upcoming release of the Personal Consumption Expenditures index. CPE is the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge and the latest inflation report on this is set for release on Friday, September 26, 2025.
Investors will be keen on CPE data that does not impact the anticipated interest rate cuts.
Read more: Dow slightly up as gold hits fresh high, stocks largely muted
