Nasdaq climbs 1.2% as AI financing lifts chips; oil falls before the Fed decision
After the close, Tuesday October 27: the close, the financing behind the AI rally, and the next policy test.
The close
| Index | Close, rounded | Day |
|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 | 7,723 | +0.6% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 52,378 | Less than +0.1% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 26,478 | +1.2% |
U.S. stocks closed higher Tuesday, with technology and semiconductor shares leading the advance. The Nasdaq comfortably outpaced the Dow, which finished almost flat. Index levels and percentage changes in the table are rounded.
What moved, and why
Financing gave the AI trade another lift. Broadcom was among the chipmakers gaining ground after banks and Blackstone announced $63 billion in financing for Broadcom hardware to be used by Anthropic. The structure buys equipment through a separate vehicle and leases it to the AI company. That is different from an equity investment in Anthropic, and the distinction matters when tracking who owns the hardware and who supplies the capital. See our financing story.
Meta's offering put suppliers on both sides of the transaction. The company priced a larger $25 billion common-stock offering alongside $12.5 billion of preferred depositary shares. Nvidia and AMD separately announced commitments of $3 billion and $1 billion to Meta's equity offering. Those plans connect the companies selling AI equipment with the funding of a major buyer. They are announcements and financing arrangements, not evidence that every planned dollar has already been received. Our Meta offering report explains the forward-sale timing.
Oil eased. Brent crude settled at $113.88 a barrel, down 1.67%, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate settled at $99.90, down 1.83%. Traders weighed Middle East diplomacy against the risk of continued disruption. A lower settlement offered some relief, but it did not settle the outlook for energy supply or inflation. More in Chain, Crude & Chips.
Company results added a second story beyond AI. SoFi raised its full-year outlook after quarterly net revenue rose 44% and membership reached 17.1 million. The company now expects $5.04 billion in adjusted net revenue for 2026. As with any forecast, that is a management target rather than a completed result. See our SoFi earnings report.
What to watch next
The Federal Reserve's rate announcement is scheduled for Wednesday at 2:00 PM ET, followed by the chair's press conference at 2:30 PM. Microsoft and Alphabet are also due to report Wednesday. The policy decision and the earnings reports are separate tests: one speaks to borrowing costs and the economic outlook, the others to company growth, spending and returns.
For readers, the useful habit is to keep those questions separate. A rising Nasdaq does not by itself prove that every AI investment will earn an adequate return. An offering price is not the same as cash received, and a forecast is not the same as profit already earned. Tuesday's financing news gives more detail about how the buildout is funded; the coming results will add evidence about what that spending produces.
