S&P 500 hits record intraday high of 7,844.52, closes above 7,800

The S&P 500 rose to a record intraday high — the highest level reached during trading — of 7,844.52 on Tuesday, surpassing its 13 August intraday peak of 7,830, CNBC reported. The benchmark also closed above 7,800 for the first time, according to CNBC. CNBC reported the run was narrowly led by a few stocks tied to AI hype that it said were seen as unaffected by adverse macroeconomic conditions.

The so-called Magnificent Seven — Nvidia, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft and Tesla — make up more than 34% of the S&P 500's market capitalization, CNBC reported. JJ Kinahan, Cboe Global Markets senior vice president of retail and alternative investments, said that with so much weight in a small number of stocks, their daily movements dictate the direction of the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. MarketWatch reported the group has been staging a comeback after trading sideways for much of the past year, which it said helped re-energize a bull market threatened by rising bond yields and stubbornly high crude-oil prices.

CNBC reported the recovery followed months of oil shocks, rising borrowing costs and the possible start of a Federal Reserve rate-hiking cycle. The 10-year Treasury yield surpassed 5.3% on Monday, reaching levels not seen since 2002, according to CNBC. In mid-September the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate for the first time in over three years and indicated more increases were to come, CNBC reported.

Oil crossed $100 a barrel in early March for the first time since 2022 as the Iran conflict disrupted energy supplies moving through the Strait of Hormuz, then fell below $70 before rising back above $100 in early September, according to CNBC. Shawn Snyder, economic strategist at Potomac Fund Management, told CNBC that oil and bond yields can be correlated, but so are the stock market and profits, and that the stock market will be resilient if profits are there, even if the economy is more mixed.

Kinahan said the U.S. stock market is the best place to park money compared with other locations. Snyder cautioned that "weakening" market breadth — how widely gains spread across stocks — may last longer if inflation shows no signs of easing or if there is no clear signal the Federal Reserve is achieving its mandate. He also said the market "can look relatively calm, but there are still things going on underneath the surface that may not be so calm."

CNBC reported that Amazon said earlier this year it expected about $200 billion in capital expenditures across its businesses in 2026, citing opportunities including AI, chips and robotics. In June, SpaceX raised $75 billion in the largest IPO (initial public offering) ever and began trading on 12 June, according to CNBC. The Fed is scheduled to release minutes from its September meeting on Wednesday, CNBC reported.