MARKET TREND

• The Market Trend section keeps you trading in sync with the stock market by giving you IBD’s exclusive market analysis, extra-large market charts, and psychological indicators that may signal key changes in stock market direction.

TODAY’S MARKETS

• S&P 500
• 6890.59
• 0.30(0.00%)
• NYSE VOL (MIL)
• 6,280
• 584(10.3%)
• DJIA
• 47632.00
• 74.37(0.16%)
• NASDAQ VOL (MIL)
• 10,089
• 551(5.2%)
• NASDAQ
• 23,958.47
• 130.98(0.6%)

10/29/2025 (Market Close)

ACCESS THE GENERAL MARKET INDICATOR CHARTS

MARKET NEWS

THE BIG PICTURE

Nasdaq Leads Stock Market, But Small Caps Lag; Breadth Weakens After Fed Rate Cut

BY KEN SHREVE | 10/29/2025 06:23 PM ET

Small caps lagged in the stock market at Wednesday’s close after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said cutting interest rates at its December meeting “is not a foregone conclusion.” Policymakers cut the key rate by 25 basis points to a range of 3.75% to 4% at the Fed’s meeting earlier Wednesday.

Now, the stock market turns to a boatload of high-profile AI earnings reports in the technology sector, as well as U.S. trade talks with China.

The Nasdaq composite was the only index to finish near its session high, up 0.6%. Volume fell from Tuesday, and the Nasdaq’s Oct. 3 distribution day fell off the count on the 5% rule.

Palantir Technologies (PLTR) was a top gainer in the Nasdaq-100 index, up nearly 5%. Semiconductor stocks like Applied Materials (AMAT), Broadcom (AVGO), Lam Research (LRCX), and Nvidia (NVDA) also outperformed with gains of 3% to 3.5%.

At Nvidia’s GTC conference Tuesday, Nvidia and Palantir announced a collaboration to develop integrated AI infrastructure for enterprise use.

The Nasdaq is starting to look quite extended after five straight gains. The index is now 7% above its 50-day moving average. It also moved above an upper channel line Wednesday. The channel line can be drawn by connecting the Nasdaq’s July 3 high with its July 31, Aug. 13 and Sept. 22 … More »

• • Dow Jones Futures: Trump Touts Deals From ‘Outstanding’ Xi Meeting; Microsoft, Meta, Google Step Up Capital Spending
    10/29/2025 05:03 PM ET Investor’s Business Daily
  • Stock Market Today: Dow Ends Lower As Traders Slash Rate-Cut Bets; Nvidia Holds To $5 Trillion Mark
    10/29/2025 08:11 AM ET Investor’s Business Daily
  • Indexes Score Record Highs As Fed Rate Decision Nears; Nvidia Clears Key Level
    10/28/2025 06:12 PM ET Investor’s Business Daily
  • Dow Jones Futures: Trump Upbeat On China, Lifts Nvidia; Why Microsoft, Google, Meta Earnings Are So Important
    10/28/2025 04:40 PM ET Investor’s Business Daily
  VIEW ALL STORIES
• PSYCHOLOGICAL MARKET INDICATORSIBD’s psychological indicators give you a more complete analysis on the strength of the market, especially at short- and long-term tops and bottoms.CBOE MARKET VOLATILITY S&P 500 16.01A contrarian sentiment indicator that helps determine market bottoms as well as shorter-term swings.PUT CALL RATIO 0.65A contrarian sentiment indicator that helps determine major and short-term market bottoms.HIGH-LOW RATIO 2.29An IBD technical indicator that can flag rebounds from intermediate corrections during bull markets.BULLS  57.7 vs BEARS  13.5 A contrarian sentiment indicator that confirms market bottoms. Can also flag emerging market tops.MARGIN DEBT 38.52A contrarian indicator that has flagged the three major market tops since the 1970s.

ETF STRATEGY

IBD has developed a simple, proprietary method for trading market index ETF’s based on the market direction in the Big Picture. View Strategy »