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Nasdaq Hits Record Week as Fed Rate Cut Looms
he Nasdaq Composite ended the week at 22,141.10, up 1.54% for the week, marking a perfect run of record highs. The rally was led by Tesla shares as investors grew confident that weakening jobs data and mild inflation would push the Federal Reserve to cut rates next week.
The S&P 500 ended at 6,584.29, gaining 1.33% on the week, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 45,834.22, up 0.89%. All three indexes finished the week higher despite Friday’s mixed session, after notching record closes a day earlier.
Attention now shifts to the Fed’s September 17 meeting, where markets are pricing in a quarter-point rate cut with near certainty. Rising jobless claims and downward revisions to hiring have reinforced the view that the labor market is softening, giving the Fed cover to ease policy.
Stock market closing data for the week of Sep 8th to Sep 12th, 2025
News Summaries
Tesla’s Robot Bet Faces Investor Doubts
Tesla’s (NASDAQ: TSLA) growth story is losing steam even as Elon Musk turns focus from electric vehicles to humanoid robots. The company expects earnings in 2025 to fall nearly 30%, while its robotaxi venture is still years from making money.
Musk has said 80% of Tesla’s future value will come from Optimus, its robot program. His $1 trillion pay package is also linked to this vision. Yet Tesla’s main car business is slowing as global EV demand weakens and rivals push ahead.
Tesla shares now trade at about 155 times forward earnings, making it the most expensive stock in the Magnificent Seven. By comparison, Nvidia trades at 31 times. Only Palantir holds a richer multiple among US firms worth over $100 billion.
Efforts in autonomous driving have also stalled. The Austin robotaxi launch stumbled, California services still need drivers, and approvals elsewhere are moving slowly. For investors who continue to back Musk, Tesla remains less about cars and more about a bet on his ability to deliver the next breakthrough.
Apple Watch to Get Hypertension Detection Feature
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) will roll out its hypertension detection tool for the Apple Watch next week. The US Food and Drug Administration cleared the feature Thursday. The update will reach 150 countries, including the US, Hong Kong and the European Union.
The new tool uses the Watch’s optical heart sensor to measure how blood vessels respond to heartbeats over 30 days. Users will be notified if signs of chronic high blood pressure appear and encouraged to share results with their medical provider. The feature works on Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, Series 11, Ultra 2 and Ultra 3.
Apple built the system using machine learning and data from studies with over 100,000 participants. Hypertension affects about 1.3 billion adults globally and is a leading risk factor for stroke, heart attack and kidney disease.
Apple shares are down roughly 5% year to date, reflecting investor caution. The new health feature comes as Apple competes more aggressively with rivals like Samsung, Garmin and Oura in medical tracking.
SK Hynix Hits Record on AI Chip Breakthrough; Alibaba Rides AI Wave
SK Hynix jumped 7% in Seoul to a record high after announcing it had completed development of HBM4, the next generation of high-bandwidth memory vital for artificial intelligence.
The stock, now up more than 90% over the past year, values the company at about $170 billion. HBM4 doubles bandwidth and boosts efficiency by over 40%, reinforcing SK Hynix’s lead as the main supplier to Nvidia and leaving rivals Samsung and Micron playing catch-up.
In Hong Kong, Alibaba climbed more than 7%, extending its 2025 rally to over 80%. The e-commerce group raised $3.2 billion in convertible bonds to fund China’s largest AI infrastructure push, updated its Qwen-series models, and joined Baidu in deploying in-house chips to reduce reliance on Nvidia accelerators.
Both moves show how Asian firms are becoming central players in the global AI supply chain. Investors are rewarding the companies that can deliver critical chips and platforms at scale, fueling one of the strongest themes in markets this year.
Infosys to Buy Back $2 Billion in Shares as Stock Slides
Infosys (NYQ: INFY) will repurchase shares worth up to 180 billion rupees ($2 billion) in its first buyback in nearly three years. The board approved the purchase of as many as 100 million shares at 1,800 rupees apiece, compared with a closing price of 1,509.70 rupees on Thursday.
The buyback signals confidence that investments in digital services and artificial intelligence can revive growth at India’s second-largest software exporter. Infosys has guided for 1% to 3% constant-currency sales growth in the year through March 2026, a muted outlook reflecting weaker global tech spending.
The Bengaluru-based IT giant has seen its shares fall about 20% this year, even as the broader Mumbai market gained. That underperformance highlights headwinds for India’s $280 billion outsourcing sector, which is contending with geopolitical uncertainty, tighter corporate budgets and US trade policies under President Donald Trump.
Analysts say Infosys and its peers are now betting heavily on automation, cloud and generative AI to win larger contracts and sustain their global relevance.
From the World of Crypto
BlackRock Explores Tokenizing ETFs
BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) is weighing plans to bring some of its funds onchain, including ETFs tied to real-world assets such as stocks, Bloomberg reported Thursday. T
he world’s largest asset manager already dominates the crypto ETF space, with its iShares Bitcoin Trust and iShares Ethereum Trust amassing $55 billion and $12.7 billion in inflows, respectively. Both hit $10 billion in assets under management in under a year, making them two of only three ETFs ever to reach that milestone so quickly.
The firm has prior experience in tokenization. Its USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) became the first onchain fund to surpass $1 billion earlier this year and now manages over $2 billion, according to RWA.xyz. CEO Larry Fink has repeatedly said he expects all financial assets to be tokenized.
BlackRock’s interest comes amid a wave of activity across Wall Street. Fidelity recently launched a blockchain-based Treasury money market fund, while Nasdaq is seeking SEC approval to trade tokenized securities. The trend highlights growing institutional bets that blockchain will underpin the next phase of asset management.
Key headlines of the week
Tamara Secures $1.4B Financing | Saudi fintech Tamara will raise at least $1.4B in asset-backed funding from Goldman Sachs, Citi and Apollo, with commitments possibly reaching $2.4B. The BNPL unicorn, backed by Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund, highlights rising Gulf appeal as regional startup funding nearly doubled in H1 2025.
Black Rock Coffee Jumps 38% in IPO | Drive-through chain Black Rock Coffee surged 38% in its US trading debut, closing at $27.53 after pricing at $20 and raising $294M. Valued at $1.3B, the company runs 158 stores and plans to expand 20% annually, targeting 1,000 locations by 2035.
Fed Seen Cutting Rates as Jobs Weaken | A Bloomberg survey shows most economists expect two or more Fed cuts by year-end after unemployment rose to 4.3% and hiring slowed. Political pressure from President Trump to lower rates is growing, though markets remain calm with bond yields falling.
