Economy

US stocks close midweek mostly with gains on upbeat earnings

Nasdaq gains 0.66%, S&P up 0.4%, while Dow Jones ticks down 0.04%

Mucahithan Avcioglu  | 16.10.2025 - Update : 16.10.2025
US stocks close midweek mostly with gains on upbeat earnings

ISTANBUL

The New York Stock Exchange ended the midweek mostly in the green, as better-than-expected earnings seem to have surpassed negativity stemming from the continuing government shutdown and US-China trade tensions.

The Nasdaq soared 0.66%, or 148.38 points, to close at 22,670.08, while the S&P 500 rose 0.4%, or 26.75 points, to 6,671.06.

On the other hand, the Dow Jones inched down 0.04%, or 17.15 points, to close at 46,253.31.

While concerns about a re-escalation of trade tensions between the US and China persist, stock markets were mixed following companies' strong balance sheets.

On trade tensions with China, the Treasury secretary warned Wednesday that China "can't be trusted.”

Scott Bessent also touched on an agreement reached with China on tariffs, which was extended for another 90 days, and said there may be a possibility of extending this further in exchange for China postponing its plan to impose export restrictions on rare earth elements.

He also said a falling stock market won't change the US government's stance on the trade negotiations and taking strong action against China. Speaking to CNBC, he said, “We won’t negotiate because the stock market is going down” or shy away from taking strong measures against Beijing for that reason.

Bessent also said Wednesday that the federal government shutdown, now on its 15th day, is starting to hurt the economy up to $15 billion a day.

Shift in balance of employment and inflation risks

Stocks have been volatile in the past few days after China expanded its rare earth export restrictions last Thursday and US President Donald Trump in return threatened to impose 100% tariffs on China.

But Trump later hinted that he would not carry out his pledge to impose a "massive increase of tariffs" on China, saying "Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine!" However, on Tuesday, Trump called China choosing not to buy US soybeans "an economically hostile act."

Separately, Fed Board member Stephen Miran said the shift in the balance of employment and inflation risks has made it urgent to shift to a more neutral policy. Miran said two more interest rate cuts this year appear realistic.

On the corporate side, profits at major US banks Bank of America and Morgan Stanley rose in the third quarter, topping estimates. Shares of BoA climbed 4.4% and Morgan Stanley surged 4.7%.

An investor consortium, including Nvidia, Microsoft, and BlackRock, agreed to pay $40 billion to acquire Aligned Data Centers, the companies announced on Wednesday.

Following Dutch chipmaker ASML's better-than-expected earnings report, shares of American chipmaker AMD and Intel rose over 9%, and 4%, respectively.

Furthermore, shares of US technology giant Oracle, which announced a collaboration with Microsoft to improve supply chain efficiency, rose 1.5%.

Meta also announced a $1.5 billion investment in a data center in Texas, expected to be operational in 2028. The company's shares gained 1.3%.


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