Stocks close higher: Nasdaq jumps 1.05% and SpaceX gains 7.8% as AI shares rebound

Technology led a broad rise on Wednesday. The S&P 500 gained 0.58% to 7,757.17, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 360.21 points, or 0.69%, to 52,856.09, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.05% to 26,702.86, CNBC reported. Closing prices below are from Yahoo Finance, read after the 4 p.m. ET close.

Source: Yahoo Finance. Percent changes are against Tuesday's close.

SpaceX and Tesla pull the AI trade back up

CNBC attributed the move to SpaceX, which said third-quarter revenue grew 161% and that its AI business grew ninefold, and to Elon Musk's statement that SpaceX and Tesla have formed special committees to discuss a merger. SpaceX closed at $159.31, up 7.8% from $147.79, and Tesla rose 3.4% to $386.47, per Yahoo Finance. CNBC said SpaceX and Nvidia were the two biggest contributors to the Nasdaq's gain, with Nvidia up more than 2%, Advanced Micro Devices up more than 3% and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF up close to 2%.

No merger has been agreed. Our earlier reports cover SpaceX's quarter and why the vote math is hard.

The rally was narrower than the headline

The size of the move depended on how much technology an index holds. The Nasdaq 100 gained 1.13%, the Dow 0.69% and the S&P 500 0.58%, while the small-company Russell 2000 gained 0.27%. For an owner reading the index as a mood gauge, that gap matters: a day led by a handful of large AI names says less about the average company than the Dow or the Russell do.

Netflix was the main laggard, falling 5.3% to $65.04, after CNBC said its full-year revenue forecast came in below expectations and it cut its ad revenue guidance. Meta rose 0.5% to $697.52 ahead of its results after the close, hours after a New Mexico court ordered it to pay a $25 billion penalty that accrues 15% annual interest, per CNBC. We broke down the penalty here. IBM and Southwest Airlines also report tonight; our earnings preview has the details.

Yields, oil, gold and bitcoin

The Treasury's par yield curve showed the 10-year at 5.13% on Wednesday, up from 5.12%, the 2-year at 4.81% from 4.79%, and the 30-year unchanged at 5.42%, per the U.S. Treasury. France's 10-year crossed 5% earlier in the day (our report), and a U.S. 10-year above 5% keeps borrowing costs high for businesses with floating-rate debt.

December WTI crude finished near $97.74 a barrel, down about 0.1%, and Brent was near $109.68, up about 0.8%, according to Yahoo Finance. Prices are for the active December contracts; the November WTI contract has expired. Gold futures rose 0.2% to $4,151.20. Bitcoin traded near $84,641 on the Chronicle board at 4:37 p.m. ET, up 2.3% over 24 hours; CNBC noted crypto-linked shares rose with it. See crypto prices.

What comes next

Jobless claims are due Thursday, forecast at 200,000 against 199,000 last week, and the S&P Global flash composite PMI follows Friday, per our economic calendar. The Fed meets October 28, where the calendar shows the funds rate forecast unchanged at 3.875%. Alphabet and Microsoft report the same day, CNBC said, and Oracle holds an investor day.

Sources: Yahoo Finance (closing prices), CNBC, U.S. Treasury, Chronicle markets board and economic calendar. Some data may be delayed. This is market information, not investment advice.