Nasdaq Hits Record High Ahead of Federal Reserve Meeting

San Francisco, CA – The Nasdaq Composite achieved a record high close on Friday amid a mixed trading session, bolstered by gains from Microsoft as investors anticipate the Federal Reserve‘s policy meeting next week. Analysts widely expect the Fed to announce a cut in interest rates to address a slowdown in the jobs market.

Technology-related stocks, including Tesla, fueled the Nasdaq’s momentum, following a strong rally in the previous session when all three major indexes reached all-time highs. Investors are eagerly awaiting the Fed’s meetings scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.

Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research, noted, “Because we had such a nice jump in the stock market yesterday, investors are basically catching their breath. There’s really not going to be any data between now and Wednesday. It’s a sort of wait-and-see attitude.”

Microsoft saw an increase of 1.8% after it offered customers reduced prices for Office products, excluding Teams. Meanwhile, Tesla shares surged 7.4% even as it faced scrutiny over CEO Elon Musk‘s political activities, which board chair Robyn Denholm stated had impacted sales.

Despite Friday’s surge, Tesla shares are still down 2% for 2025. The Dow Jones Industrial Average remained in negative territory, hurt by declines in Goldman Sachs and Sherwin-Williams, while the S&P 500 experienced a marginal decline.

Data from the University of Michigan indicated a fall in U.S. consumer sentiment for September, reflecting concerns about business conditions, the labor market, and inflation. The S&P 500 wrapped up the session down 0.05% at 6,584.29 points, while the Nasdaq gained 0.45% to close at 22,141.10 points. The Dow Jones lost 0.59%, ending at 45,834.22 points.

Seven of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes saw losses, with healthcare down 1.13% and materials decreasing by 0.97%. Interest rate futures have indicated a total of 75 basis points in cuts may happen by the end of the year.

For the past week, the S&P 500 rose by 1.6%, the Dow climbed nearly 1%, and the Nasdaq increased by 2%, buoyed by strong forecasts from cloud computing giant Oracle. Warner Bros Discovery experienced a significant jump of 17%, extending a surge following a report on a potential acquisition involving Paramount Skydance.

Shares of vaccine manufacturers, including Moderna and Pfizer, fell amid a report of U.S. health officials planning to assess COVID-19 vaccines related to the deaths of 25 children. Moderna dropped 7.4%, while both Pfizer and Novavax saw declines of over 3%.

Overall, declining stocks outnumbered rising ones within the S&P 500 by a 3.3-to-one ratio, as the index posted 22 new highs and 3 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 106 new highs and 43 new lows.