US Stock Market Today: S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow Rise as AI Stocks Lead Wall Street
September 25, 2026 — Wall Street ended the week higher as technology and AI-related stocks attracted investors. The S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones Industrial Average all finished Friday's session in positive territory.
The move came as investors continued to watch artificial intelligence spending, oil prices, U.S. Treasury yields and expectations for future Federal Reserve interest-rate decisions.
How Did the US Stock Market Perform Today?
The three major U.S. stock indexes closed higher on Friday:
Index| September 25 Close| Daily Move
S&P 500| 7,743.41| +0.51%
Nasdaq Composite| 27,068.72| +0.48%
Dow Jones Industrial Average| 51,828.62| +0.93%
The S&P 500 gained 1.2% during the week, while the Nasdaq advanced about 2%. The Nasdaq had also reached a record closing level earlier in the week.
AI Stocks Remain a Major Market Driver
Artificial intelligence continued to be one of the biggest themes in the U.S. stock market.
Microsoft was among Friday's notable gainers, rising about 3.7% after introducing new capabilities for its Copilot platform, including coding and AI-agent features. Qualcomm and Dell also recorded strong gains.
Akamai Technologies gained after announcing an $11.6 billion cloud-services deal involving AI company Anthropic.
This shows why investors are continuing to pay close attention to companies involved in AI software, chips, cloud computing and data-center infrastructure.
Oil Prices and Bond Yields Remain Important
The stock market was also influenced by movements in oil and the bond market.
Oil prices declined by roughly 3% on Friday as hopes for a possible improvement in the Middle East situation increased. Lower oil prices can reduce some inflation pressure, although energy markets remain highly sensitive to geopolitical developments.
At the same time, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield remained around 5.16% after briefly reaching about 5.23%, its highest level since 2007. Higher bond yields can make stocks relatively less attractive and can increase borrowing costs across the economy.
Why Is the Fed Important for Investors?
Interest rates remain an important factor for Wall Street.
According to Reuters, market pricing on Friday indicated a 66% chance of at least a 25-basis-point Federal Reserve rate increase in October, up from roughly 50% earlier in the week. This market pricing can change quickly as new economic data arrives.
For investors, the key issue is how inflation, economic growth and interest rates develop in the coming weeks.
What Does This Mean for Global Investors?
The U.S. stock market has a global influence. Movements in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq can affect investor sentiment in Europe and Asia and can also influence markets such as India's.
Technology stocks are particularly important because many major global investors hold U.S. technology companies. Changes in U.S. interest rates, oil prices and AI investment can therefore become relevant beyond Wall Street.
Reuters reported that the broader MSCI global stock gauge gained about 0.53% on Friday, while Europe's STOXX 600 rose about 0.35%.
What Investors Are Watching Next
The market is likely to remain focused on several major factors:
- U.S. inflation and economic data
- Federal Reserve interest-rate expectations
- Treasury bond yields
- Oil prices and global energy supply
- AI-related corporate investment
- Upcoming U.S. employment data
These factors can influence both U.S. stocks and global financial markets.
Bottom Line
The U.S. stock market finished Friday, September 25, higher, with the S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow Jones all gaining. AI-related technology stocks provided support, while falling oil prices offered some relief from recent inflation concerns.
However, elevated Treasury yields and uncertainty about future Federal Reserve policy remain important risks for investors.
For Indian and other international investors, Wall Street remains worth watching because major changes in U.S. technology stocks, interest rates, oil prices and global investor sentiment can influence markets around the world.
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