TheDrop Market Analysis, 10/28/25

Markets ticked higher as investors await the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy decision.

A sideview of the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States.

The S&P 500 index rose 0.23%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.34%, and the Russell 2000 small business-heavy index fell by a slight 0.55%. However, the blue chip-heavy Nasdaq index, which includes many of the largest tech-related tickers like Nvidia and Apple, surged 0.8%, driven by new records made by Nvidia today. The VIX volatility index surged 4%, as stocks made a quite sharp rise late in the afternoon, roughly when Nvidia made its all-time high.

Foreign stocks had mixed results amid the ongoing America-China trade negotiations in Asia, which is expected to conclude in the upcoming days as President Trump is expected to meet with President Xi in South Korea. In Asia, stocks performed the worst (largely due to their correction from yesterday's growth), with the Japanese Nikkei 225 falling 0.58% and the Hong Kong Hang Seng index falling 0.33%. In Europe, the British blue chip-heavy FTSE 100 index surged past 0.4% in reaction to the success of its American counterparts, while other European indexes like the French CAC and the German DAX P falling by small margins.

Both commodities and crypto fell in unison, with gold falling 0.53%, silver falling 0.44%, and several cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum weakening in valuation as well.

Stocks rose as investors anticipate another rate cut decision by the Federal Reserve in the coming days; however, stocks got a boost as Nvidia made an all-time high value in share price due to its new AI deals, along with Apple's share price, fueled by strong iPhone sales.