US Equities Surpass All-Time High as AI Frenzy Drives Wall Street Rally

The US stock market reached a historic milestone on Tuesday, climbing to an all-time high as surging enthusiasm for artificial intelligence triggered a significant buying frenzy on Wall Street.

The S&P 500, the benchmark stock index, closed 0.58 percent higher, surpassing the previous peak established in mid-August.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also logged a record close, gaining 0.45 percent.

Technology shares were among the day’s top performers, with six of the group known as the “Magnificent Seven” stocks closing higher, excluding Meta.

Amazon headed the gains with a 1.95 percent increase, followed by Microsoft and Tesla, which advanced 0.78 percent and 0.51 percent respectively.

Apple and Alphabet each climbed 0.22 percent, while Nvidia posted a 0.14 percent gain.

Conversely, Meta slipped 0.41 percent, despite having rallied more than 20 percent since its new AI assistant, Muse, was released last month.

Other notable tech movers included Marvell Technology, which jumped 5.81 percent, and Cisco, which gained 4.54 percent.

Technology, AI

Keith Lerner, chief investment officer and chief market strategist at Truist Advisory Services in Atlanta, Georgia, characterized the market rally as a “technology and AI surge”.

“Every bull market has a dominant theme, and technology and AI remain this market’s dominant theme,” Lerner told Al Jazeera.

“Technology and communication services were the only two S&P 500 sectors to rise last month, while the other nine declined.”

Wall Street has remained resilient in the face of various economic challenges, buoyed by multibillion-dollar AI investments from major hyperscalers.

Despite an energy crunch linked to the conflict in the region and a sell-off in US government bonds partly attributed to escalating public debt, the market is positioned to achieve its fourth consecutive year of double-digit returns.

Year to date in 2026, the S&P 500 has risen 14 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite is up 18.78 percent.

Lerner of Truist Advisory noted the rally could sustain momentum through the end of 2026, supported by historical patterns and expectations for strong corporate earnings.

“We do not expect a straight line higher for markets,” Lerner said.

“Still, the fourth quarter of midterm-election years has produced an average gain of 7 percent and has been positive 84 percent of the time since 1950.”

Lerner cautioned that rising interest rates present the greatest risk to the upward trajectory.

“Still, on balance, the weight of the evidence suggests this bull market still has more upside potential,” he said.

Meanwhile, Asian stock markets declined on Wednesday, with key indexes in Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong slumping during morning trading.

As of 02:30 GMT, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo, the Kospi in Seoul, and the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong were down 0.79 percent, 1.36 percent, and 0.71 percent, respectively.

Oil prices, which had been elevated since the start of the conflict in Iran, rose on Wednesday as traders assessed the fallout from fighting between forces supporting Yemen’s internationally recognised government and Iran-aligned Houthis.

Brent crude futures for December delivery stood at $101.45 a barrel as of 02:30 GMT, up 0.87 percent.

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