TheDrop Market Analysis, 09/29/25

Stocks rose on Monday as economic sentiments remain uncertain but unchanged from last week, therefore contributing to minimal activity during market hours.

Gold bars.

The S&P 500 index rose 0.3%, the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.5%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%. The VIX volatility index made a significant increase by 5.43%, reflecting the market's slight shift upward, although still not very volatile compared to previous days. ETFs across the world generally took a deep breathe as the United States formalized its TikTok trade deal with China at the end of last week, causing international trade concerns to ease a bit. The British FTSE 100 rose 0.16%, the French CAC 40 rose 0.13%, and the Hang Seng rose 0.01%, just to name a few.

Commodities, meanwhile, had a very exceptional day as gold made a new record high of $3,870, a 0.4% increase in the day and a 45% increase so far this year. Silver and copper also made comparable rises in valuation. The bond market did take a small hit as rate cuts loom over the economy, with the 10-Yr Bond rate falling 1.1%. Yet, mortgage rates have not fallen significantly, invoking marginal levels of fear among investors who became skeptical of the future of real estate in the economy as the Federal Reserve eyes additional interest rate cuts.

Stocks generally rose as markets did not have a major economic/financial news event to pinpoint, with the exception being fiscal reform's deadlock in Congress, which has caused the threat of a government shutdown to grow.

Cryptocurrencies made an unexpected strong showing today as Bitcoin surges past $114,000, and Ethereum and XRP also having notably high improvements in valuation, fueled by the investor frenzy over the vitality of the USD post-rate cut.

The Magnificent Seven largely stagnated, however Nvidia made a strong 2% increase in share price as CEO Jensen Huang urges investors that AI demand will beat expectations. This, however, was a detriment to Intel, a semi-competitor to Nvidia, which took a hit as its rally ends.