The US stock market reached an all-time high on Tuesday as investors kept buying shares tied to artificial intelligence.
The S&P 500 closed 0.58 percent higher. That move pushed the index above its previous peak, which was set in mid-August.
The Nasdaq Composite, which leans more heavily toward tech stocks, also closed at a record. It finished the day up 0.45 percent.
Tech Giants Lead the Gains
Tech stocks were among the top performers. Six of the "Magnificent Seven" companies closed higher, with Meta as the only exception.
Amazon led the group with a 1.95 percent gain. Microsoft rose 0.78 percent, and Tesla added 0.51 percent.
Apple and Alphabet each gained 0.22 percent. Nvidia edged up 0.14 percent.
Meta slipped 0.41 percent. The stock has still climbed more than 20 percent since the company launched its new AI assistant, Muse, last month.
Outside the largest names, Marvell Technology jumped 5.81 percent. Cisco gained 4.54 percent.
What Analysts Are Saying
Keith Lerner, chief investment officer and chief market strategist at Truist Advisory Services, described the rally as a "technology and AI surge." He said AI remains the dominant theme of this bull market.
Lerner said technology and communication services were the only two S&P 500 sectors to rise last month. The other nine sectors declined.
The market has climbed despite several pressures. These include an energy crunch caused by the US-Israel war on Iran and a sell-off in US government bonds, partly driven by growing government debt.
The S&P 500 is up 14 percent so far in 2026. The Nasdaq Composite has gained 18.78 percent, and the market is on track for a fourth straight year of double-digit returns.
Lochlan Halloway, a senior equity strategist at Morningstar Australia, said investors are betting that spending on data centres will pay off. He said that belief has so far outweighed rising interest rates, costlier oil and a 10-year bond yield above 5 percent.
Halloway said Morningstar is also positive on AI. However, he warned that the market is concentrated in a handful of companies, so the outlook depends on the AI story continuing to deliver.
Lerner said the rally could continue through the end of 2026. He said the fourth quarter of US midterm election years has produced an average gain of 7 percent since 1950 and has been positive 84 percent of the time.
He added that rising interest rates are the biggest risk to the trend. "We do not expect a straight line higher for markets," Lerner said.
Asian stock markets fell on Wednesday. South Korea's Kospi led losses with a 1.98 percent drop, while Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.92 percent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 0.57 percent shortly before the close.
Oil prices rose on Wednesday as traders weighed fighting in Yemen between government-aligned forces and the Iran-aligned Houthis. Brent crude futures for December delivery stood at $101.16 a barrel as of 07:30 GMT, up 0.58 percent.
