Apple shares hit record high, market cap nears $5 trillion

Source: Shanghai Securities News

Date: Friday, September 25

U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday as a pause in the Treasury yield rally and a retreat in oil prices lifted market sentiment. The tech-heavy Nasdaq led gains, with major semiconductor and software stocks advancing.

Major Indices Close Higher; Apple Hits Record High

All three major U.S. stock indices ended the session in positive territory:

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: +0.93%, closing at 51,828.62
• S&P 500: +0.51%, closing at 7,743.41
• Nasdaq Composite: +0.48%, closing at 27,068.72

Weekly performance:

• Dow: +0.28%
• S&P 500: +1.21%
• Nasdaq: +2.06%

Apple Inc. rose 1.53% to close at a record $341.07 per share, pushing its market capitalization toward $5 trillion. The move comes ahead of the consumer electronics giant's next wave of product launches, expected in the coming weeks.

Tech and Semiconductor Stocks Lead

Most large-cap tech stocks posted gains:

• Microsoft: +3.66%
• Alphabet (Google): +0.46%
• Nvidia: +0.22%
• Amazon: +0.12%
• Tesla: -1.54%

Meta Platforms fell 3.33% on Friday after reports that its popular AI agent "Muse" faced "computational bottlenecks," leading to service degradation and task failures. Despite the drop, Meta still posted a weekly gain of 12.99%.

Semiconductor stocks broadly advanced. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 1.41% on Friday and gained 6.27% for the week, marking its fourth consecutive weekly gain — the longest such streak since May.

Notable semiconductor movers:

• Qualcomm: +3.97%
• ARM Holdings: +1.30%
• ASML: +1.24%
• Broadcom: +0.70%
• TSMC: -0.17%
• Intel: -3.45%

Airline Stocks Rally

All major airline stocks closed higher:

• American Airlines: +3.90%
• Southwest Airlines: +2.74%
• Delta Air Lines: +2.63%
• United Airlines: +2.52%
• Boeing: +0.60%

Chinese Stocks Mostly Lower

The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index fell 0.64%. Notable movers among Chinese ADRs:

• Bitdeer Technologies: -5%+
• WeRide: -4%+
• 21Vianet Group: -4%+
• Pony AI: -3%
• Amer Sports: +3%+
• Futu Holdings: +2%+
• ACM Research: +1%+

Oil Prices Retreat on Hopes for Strait of Hormuz Reopening

According to Xinhua News Agency, Iran has proposed a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated on Friday that Iran had conveyed the plan to the U.S. via Qatar. If the U.S. takes the necessary actions, the strait could be reopened within seven days, restoring normal maritime traffic.

Araghchi made the announcement at a press conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York. He said the timeline would begin once the U.S. accepts the plan, with required U.S. actions taking approximately four to five days. The strait could reopen by the sixth day, with negotiations on a final agreement beginning on the seventh day.

Market optimism over a potential resolution to Middle East tensions temporarily outweighed concerns about crude supply disruptions, sending oil prices lower for the first time in two days.

Settlement prices on Friday:

• WTI crude (November delivery): -$2.20, closing at $92.41/barrel (-2.33%)
• Brent crude (November delivery): -$2.28, closing at $104.32/barrel (-2.14%)

Treasury Yields Pull Back After Intraday Surge

The decline in oil prices helped ease some pressure on the bond market. U.S. Treasury yields rose intraday but then retreated, with short-term yields falling more than long-term yields.

• 2-year yield: Fell ~7 basis points to 4.86%
• 10-year yield: Fell ~4 basis points to 5.165%
• 30-year yield: Hit a new high since 2004 intraday, currently hovering around 5.5%

Weekly performance: U.S. Treasuries posted their worst weekly performance since April last year. Long-term yields rose nearly 20 basis points for the week, while medium- and long-term yields hit multi-year highs.

Consumer Sentiment Drops; Fed Rate Hike Expectations Rise

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq briefly turned negative on Friday after the University of Michigan released its consumer sentiment data.

September Consumer Sentiment Index: 48.1, down from 51.7 in August and 55.1 a year ago — the lowest level in four months.

Sub-indices (September):

• Current Economic Conditions Index: 50.9 (down month-over-month and year-over-year)
• Consumer Expectations Index: 46.3 (down month-over-month and year-over-year)

Inflation expectations:

• One-year ahead: 4.6% in September, up from 4.0% in August — the highest since June
• Long-term: 3.4%, up slightly from 3.3% where it had held for three consecutive months

The data presents a challenging combination: declining consumer confidence in the economic outlook alongside rising inflation expectations. This could signal growing concerns about economic growth while also limiting the Federal Reserve's room for further policy easing.

Fed Officials Signal Hawkish Stance

Several Federal Reserve officials delivered hawkish remarks on Friday, warning that inflation remains elevated and that current policy may not be sufficient to bring prices back to the 2% target.

• Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack: Said underlying inflation may be above target and that the Fed needs to ensure monetary policy remains restrictive to lower inflation.
• Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid: Stated that inflation remains above the Fed's 2% target and that policymakers have not yet fully conquered inflation.
• New York Fed President John Williams: Warned that persistent supply shocks cannot be ignored.

Market reaction: Expectations for a Fed rate hike at the next meeting have risen sharply. Investors now see a nearly 70% probability of a rate hike, up from 53% last weekend. The next Federal Reserve policy meeting is scheduled for October 27–28.

Author: Wang Youruo