[New York Stock Exchange] All Major Indices Hit Record Highs on Nvidia-OpenAI Investment Partnership and AI Optimism

Nvidia to Invest $100 Billion in OpenAI
AI Optimism Spreads; Strong iPhone Sales Also Fuel Tech Rally
Focus on Manufacturing PMI on the 23rd and PCE Inflation Data on the 26th

On September 22 (local time), all three major indexes on the New York Stock Exchange closed at record highs. Optimism about artificial intelligence (AI) spread as news broke that Nvidia would invest 100 billion dollars in OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, driving a rally in technology stocks.

On this day, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 46,381.54, up 66.27 points (0.14%) from the previous trading day. The S&P 500 index, which focuses on large-cap stocks, rose 29.39 points (0.44%) to 6,693.75, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq index jumped 157.5 points (0.7%) to 22,880.976. With this, all three major indexes once again broke their all-time records.

The stock market showed weakness early in the session as it failed to find a clear catalyst, but sentiment reversed after news of Nvidia's investment in OpenAI. Nvidia announced that it would invest 100 billion dollars in OpenAI to establish a strategic partnership to build large-scale AI infrastructure, including data centers. Through this collaboration, Nvidia’s advanced chips will be installed in infrastructure requiring at least 10GW of power. The two companies are aiming to begin operations in the second half of 2026. With this investment, Nvidia will also acquire a stake in OpenAI.

Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, emphasized in an interview with CNBC, "A power scale of 10GW would require 4 million to 5 million graphics processing units (GPUs), which is Nvidia’s shipment volume for this year and double that of last year," calling it a "massive project."

Sam Stovall, Chief Investment Strategist at CFRA Research, predicted, "This deal will drive AI transactions, boosting earnings per share (EPS) and stock prices through 2026."

Additionally, technology stocks were further buoyed by reports that demand for Apple’s new iPhone 17 has exceeded expectations immediately after its launch.

However, gains were limited as the possibility of a federal government shutdown increased. On September 19, the U.S. Senate rejected a temporary budget bill that had passed the House of Representatives. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of the Democratic Party said that Democratic cooperation is necessary for the passage of the temporary budget bill and urged President Donald Trump to meet with Democrats to reach an agreement. If the budget bill is not passed by September 30, a federal government shutdown will be unavoidable starting October 1.

The market is focused on economic indicators to be released this week. On September 17, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 0.25 percentage points to a range of 4.0-4.25% due to concerns about a slowdown in the labor market. This week, indicators related to inflation and growth will be released. On September 23, the September S&P Global Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which gauges manufacturing activity, and a public speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell are scheduled. On September 25, the final figure for the second-quarter U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) will be released, and on September 26, the August core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Fed’s most closely watched inflation indicator, will be announced. The market expects the PCE price index to have risen 0.2% from the previous month, lower than the 0.3% increase in July.

Emmanuel Cau, Head of European Equity Strategy at Barclays, analyzed, "Stocks are near record highs, and the interest rate market is still pricing in five additional rate cuts next year. Further stock gains will need to be supported by solid macroeconomic data going forward, rather than dovish (monetary easing) rate expectations."

Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Governor Steven Myron, known as "Trump’s economic advisor," stirred controversy by arguing that the benchmark interest rate should be cut by 2 percentage points. In a speech at the Economic Club of New York, he said, "The bottom line is that monetary policy has entered a restrictive zone," and warned, "Leaving short-term rates about 2 percentage points tighter than appropriate poses unnecessary risks of layoffs and higher unemployment."

U.S. Treasury yields remained firm. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, the global benchmark for bond yields, stood at 4.15%, up 1 basis point (1bp = 0.01 percentage point) from the previous session, while the yield on the 2-year Treasury note, which is sensitive to monetary policy, rose 2 basis points to 3.6%.

By stock, Nvidia soared 3.97% after announcing its strategic partnership with OpenAI. Oracle surged 6.31%. With reports that Oracle will handle data and privacy management if China’s ByteDance sells TikTok’s U.S. operations to an American company, the firm also appointed a new CEO on this day. Apple rose 4.31% on strong initial sales of its new iPhone. Metsera, a company developing obesity treatments, jumped 60.8% after news that global pharmaceutical company Pfizer will acquire it for 4.9 billion dollars.