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Why is the stock market up today?

Or down. The reasons behind today’s move in US stocks: the headlines the LemonTrades desk scored highest for the S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow, and what yields, the dollar and the biggest stocks are doing.

S&P 500 futures · before the open
7,751.25points
−49.00 (−0.63%) since the last close
Market open · Updated 12:11 AM ET
Nasdaq
+1.06%
Dow
+0.68%
Russell 2000
+0.27%
VIX
16.68 −1.53%
10-year yield
5.146%
Market
Closed now

The S&P 500 futures is down 0.63% today, so it’s down, not up. The S&P 500 has fallen 0.6% or more on 18.0% of trading days over the last ten years, about 45 days a year.

  • Tech is lagging: the Nasdaq futures is −1.31% against −0.35% for the Dow, so big tech is leading the selling.
  • The 10-year Treasury yield is up 6 basis points at 5.15%. Rising yields usually weigh on stocks, especially tech.
  • Alphabet (−1.6%) is doing the most damage among the biggest stocks.

The reasons: today’s top headlines

The headlines from the last 24 hours that the desk scored highest for US stocks, 0 to 10, with how each one pushes the market.

The desk’s alerts

Breaking stories and sharp index moves from the last three days, written up by the desk.

  • Wed 8:32 PM
    IRGC shifts to 'offensive' doctrine, vows invasion amid Iran war

    Al Jazeera's Iran war live coverage reports the IRGC has vowed invasion as its defence doctrine turns 'offensive', signalling a potential escalation beyond defensive operations.

    S&P 500 ▼
  • Wed 4:32 PM
    IBM beats revenue and earnings estimates; CEO touts AI traction

    IBM reported quarterly results that beat on both revenue and earnings. CEO Arvind Krishna highlighted traction in what he called 'Super Intelligence' AI offerings.

    Dow Jones ▲
  • Wed 4:12 PM
    Tesla beats on earnings and revenue

    Tesla reported quarterly earnings and revenue above expectations, CNBC reports. No figures were given in the headline.

    Nasdaq 100 ▲S&P 500 ▲
  • Wed 4:10 PM
    Meta raises AI spending outlook, announces stock offering

    Meta boosted its AI investment with a new spending outlook and announced a stock offering, per Bloomberg. No figures were given in the headline.

    Nasdaq 100 •S&P 500 •

The biggest stocks today

Seven companies make up about a third of the S&P 500’s value, so their moves can carry the whole index.

CompanyPriceToday
NvidiaNVDA$221.94 +2.52%
AppleAAPL$343.91 +1.23%
MicrosoftMSFT$532.95 +0.15%
AmazonAMZN$262.52 −0.09%
AlphabetGOOGL$334.76 −1.63%
MetaMETA$697.52 +0.44%
TeslaTSLA$386.40 +3.39%

Rates, the dollar and commodities

MarketLevelChangeToday
VIXthe fear gauge 16.68 −0.26 −1.53%
10-year Treasury yieldin % 5.146% +0.063 +1.24%
US Dollar IndexDXY 101.58 −0.11 −0.11%
WTI crude oilfutures 98.53 +0.82 +0.84%
Goldspot, per ounce 4,091.63 −47.51 −1.15%
Bitcoinspot 82,836.93 −1,937.63 −2.29%

Every index and its futures on one page: stock market live today.

Why the stock market goes up

  • Cooler inflation or softer jobs data, which raise the odds of lower interest rates.
  • Falling Treasury yields, which make future profits worth more today, especially for tech.
  • Strong earnings from big companies, above all the megacaps.
  • Relief: a tariff pause, a ceasefire, a deal in Washington.
  • Momentum and buybacks: companies and funds keep buying in a rising market.

Coming up that could move stocks

Nothing big on the calendar for the next week yet.

Questions

Why is the stock market up today?

The S&P 500 futures is down 0.63% today, so it’s down, not up. The headlines above are the likeliest reasons.

Is the stock market open today?

The US stock market is not open yet. It opens today at 9:30 AM ET.

How do I get alerts when the market moves?

LemonTrades sends a ⚡ alert when the S&P 500, Nasdaq or Dow moves sharply, with the likely cause, and warns you 15 minutes before CPI, jobs and Fed decisions.

LemonTrades reads about 20 news sources and tells you what moved stocks, and why, as it happens: breaking news scored for the S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow, a warning before CPI, jobs and Fed decisions, and ⚡ alerts on sharp index moves with the likely cause. Try LemonTrades free for 3 days, no card needed.

Market news and analysis, not financial advice. AI can misread a headline, so check the source before acting on anything important. Prices and news may be delayed.