US stocks surged to record highs on Friday as investors digested a crucial inflation report that helped cement expectations for the Federal Reserve’s next policy moves.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 1%, or over 450 points. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained 0.8%, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) jumped 1.2%.
The September inflation data released on Friday morning came in cooler than expected. The headline Consumer Price Index rose 3% on an annual basis, the highest level since May but softer than forecasts for a 3.1% gain. Month-over-month, prices rose 0.3%, a slight cooling from August’s reading and also below expectations.
The report was delayed by more than a week due to the ongoing government shutdown, and was the first major economic release since the closure began, giving investors a long-awaited pulse check on the economy.
The CPI data did little to shake the near-unanimous investor confidence in a coming rate cut from the Fed next week — and more beyond that. Around 99% of bets are on a quarter-point cut next week, while some 96% of traders expect another slash in December.
Meanwhile, President Trump injected fresh uncertainty into trade negotiations with key US partners, announcing Friday he would cancel trade talks with Canada. Trump cited a Canadian advertisement against his signature tariffs plan which features the voice of former President Ronald Reagan.
In corporates, Intel (INTC) shares pared significant gains after the chip giant reported third-quarter revenue that topped Wall Street estimates.
“We believe we’re well-positioned to play a more significant role in AI,” Intel’s head of investor relations John Pitzer said in an interview with Yahoo Finance.
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Fri, October 24, 2025 at 8:03 PM UTC
Stock notch new highs, Dow closes above 47,000 for first time ever mild inflation data fuels bets of Fed rate cuts
Stocks closed at record highs on Friday as investors saw the latest inflation print released before the bell as an encouraging sign that the Federal Reserve is going to cut rates next week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 1%, or over 460 points, to close above the 47,000 mark for the first time. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained 1% to top a record level of 6,800, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) jumped 1.2% also to an all-time high close.
Fed officials will meet next week to decide on the direction of interest rates. Wall Street widely anticipates a rate cut after September’s inflation print came in milder than expected.
On the earnings front, Ford (F) rose 13% on the heels of a better-than-expected earnings print, while Intel (INTC) pared early gains following its quarterly release, but still ended the session in green territory.
Fri, October 24, 2025 at 7:45 PM UTC
Porsche reports downbeat YTD results, forward guidance as it recalibrates its EV, China strategy
Ford (F) rallied as high as 13% on Friday afternoon after the carmaker posted better-than-expected earnings.
The company outpaced third quarter estimates with adjusted earnings per share figures of $0.45 (vs. expectations of $0.36) and revenue of $47.185 billion versus expectations of $43.7 billion.
Fri, October 24, 2025 at 7:00 PM UTC
Gold slips to cap volatile week
Gold (GC=F) retreated less than 1% on Friday to cap a volatile week.
Futures for the precious metal fluctuated between positive and negative territory, hovering near $4,122 per troy ounce on Friday afternoon.
Gold plunged 5.5% from record levels on Tuesday, but was able to recover some of those losses to close out the week down more than 1.5%.
Fri, October 24, 2025 at 6:15 PM UTC
Fed proposes publishing detailed models for stress tests of nation’s largest banks
Target (TGT) shares were little changed Friday as the company announced layoffs, climbing fractionally in midday trading relative to the major gauges’ gains of 1% or higher.
Crypto stocks spiked in midday trading Friday as cooler-than-expected inflation data further solidified investor confidence that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its next meeting and beyond.
Robinhood (HOOD) stock climbed 3.3%, while stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) rose 5.1%. MARA (MARA) shares added 2.6%, and Riot Platforms (RIOT) was up 5.3%.
Meanwhile, crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) saw shares surge 7% as JPMorgan (JPM) upgraded the stock to an Overweight rating from Neutral, citing its “monetization opportunities” through the potential issuance of a token for its Base blockchain and its possible enhancement of USDC (a stablecoin) payouts.
Fri, October 24, 2025 at 3:45 PM UTC
Cooler-than-expected inflation reading keeps Fed on course for a rate cut next week
Alphabet stock moves higher amid chip deal with Anthropic
Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG) shares moved nearly 3% higher, ahead of the Nasdaq’s 1% gain, as Google announced a deal with Anthropic to supply the AI developer with up to 1 million of its custom chips.
Google offers its TPUs, or AI chips, through its cloud segment to customers, representing a mounting competitive threat to leading AI chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA). DA Davidson analyst Gil Luria estimates the TPU business, combined with Google’s DeepMind AI segment, to be worth $900 billion and “arguably one of Alphabet’s most valuable businesses.”
Anthropic first announced a partnership with Google Cloud to use the TPUs in 2023, but the latest deal announced Thursday was the “largest expansion of Anthropic’s TPU usage to date.”
Anthropic is backed by Amazon (AMZN) and has mainly used that tech giant’s chips through Amazon Web Services (AWS) in addition to Nvidia’s GPUs. Amazon is in the process of building a massive data center project called Project Rainier with hundreds of thousands of its Trainium2 chips that would be used by Anthropic.
“AWS continues to be Anthropic’s primary training partner and cloud provider,” an Amazon spokesperson told Yahoo Finance.
Shares in Amazon were up 1% Friday.
Fri, October 24, 2025 at 2:30 PM UTC
Ford stock soars after Q3 earnings beat, report that Novelis plant set to reopen
Ford (F) stock jumped 9% in early trading Friday after its third quarter earnings surpassed expectations and the Wall Street Journal reported that the automaker’s key supplier Novelis will reopen its plant sooner than anticipated following a fire.
Yahoo Finance’s Pras Subramanian wrote of Ford’s quarterly results:
10-year Treasury yield remains below 4% after CPI report as rate cut bets steady
The 10-year Treasury Yield (^TNX) was roughly flat Friday morning, remaining just below 4%, following cooler-than-expected inflation data that left rate-cut bets unchanged.
The CPI report Friday — a much-awaited pulse check on the economy, as the ongoing government shutdown has paused the release of economic data — showed prices rose less than expected in September.
Following the release, investors maintained confidence in a coming rate cut from the Federal Reserve at its meeting next week. Investors are pricing in 99% odds of a quarter-point cut at the October meeting, while traders see a 96% probability of another slash in December.
The 30-year Treasury yield (^TYX), meanwhile, rose slightly to just under 4.6%.
Fri, October 24, 2025 at 1:35 PM UTC
Stocks jump at the open
US stocks made gains on Friday at the open following cooler-than-expected inflation data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.5%. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained 0.7%, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) jumped 0.9%.
The rise in stocks comes as the CPI report Friday showed US prices rose less than expected in September.
Fri, October 24, 2025 at 12:44 PM UTC
September CPI: Inflation comes in lower than expected but holds firm near 3%
The price people pay for goods and services came in lower than expected on Friday, according to data released from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Yahoo Finance’s senior reporter Allie Canal delves deeper into the first and only data release from the federal government during the shutdown.
Here are some of the biggest stories you may have missed overnight and early this morning:
Economic data: CPI (September); S&P Global US manufacturing PMI (October); S&P Global US services PMI (October preliminary); S&P Global US composite PMI (October preliminary); New home sales (September); New home sales (September); University of Michigan sentiment, (October final reading); Kansas City Fed services activity (October)
Earnings calendar: Procter & Gamble (PG), Sanofi (SNY), HCA Healthcare (HCA), General Dynamics (GD), Illinois Tool Works (ITW), NatWest Group (NWG), Eni (E), Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH)
Here are some of the biggest stories you may have missed overnight and early this morning:
Ford (F) shares rose 3% before the bell on Friday after the Big Three automaker reported third quarter earnings that beat Wall Street estimates.
Newmont (NEM) stock fell 5% before the bell on Friday after the company reported earnings and warned of lower free cash flow.
QuantumScape Corporation (QS) rose 1% in premarket trading after closing 7% up in the prior day’s trading. Quantum computing stocks soared Thursday after the Wall Street Journal reported that multiple companies are in talks for the US government to take equity stakes in exchange for federal funding.
Fri, October 24, 2025 at 9:57 AM UTC
Deckers stock falls after lowering guidance due to tariffs
Deckers (DECK) stock slumped more than 10% in premarket trading on Friday after the footwear and apparel company forecast full-year sales below analysts estimates. The group said it expects consumers to be cautious over the next few months when the full effect of tariffs is seen.
Sanofi profits beat forecasts despite ‘negative buzz’ around vaccines
Sanofi (SNY) stock rose more than 3% before the bell on Friday after its third-quarter earnings beat forecasts due to a boost in demand for blockbuster asthma drug Dupixent, but the French company flagged lower vaccination rates partly due to a “negative buzz” around vaccines.
