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U.S. stock markets closed higher on Tuesday buoyed by a rejuvenated artificial intelligence (AI) trade. A series of strong economic data also boosted market participants’ sentiment. Declining crude oil prices also remained a positive. All three major stock indexes ended in positive territory.
How Did the Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 16 points to close at 52,377.57 after a choppy session. Notably, 19 components of the 30-stock index ended in negative territory, while 11 ended in positive territory. At the intraday low, the blue-chip index was down nearly 130 points.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended at 26,477.81, advancing 1.2% or 308.43 points on strong performance of AI bigwigs. The S&P 500 was up 0.6% to finish at 7,722.60. However, six out of 11 sectors of the broad-market index closed in negative territory, while five were in positive territory. The Information Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) rose 1.7%, while, the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) fell 2.1%.
The fear gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 4.7% to 17.52. A total of 16.1 billion shares were traded on Tuesday, lower than the last 20-session average of 17.18 billion. Advancers outnumbered decliners by a 1.83-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, a 1.86-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues.
AI Trade Thriving
The AI trade rebounded on Monday, which continued on Tuesday too. Anthropic, the owner of the Claude AI platform has filed Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a planned listing on the Nasdaq Composite under the ticker symbol “ANT.” Market participants welcomed the company’s decision to pursue an initial public offering.
On Tuesday, the AI-powered semiconductor space regained momentum. The PHLX Semiconductor (SOX) advanced 3.6% and the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) appreciated 3.9%. Shares of AI-led semiconductor giants like Broadcom Inc. (AVGO - Free Report) , Micron Technology Inc. (MU - Free Report) and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD - Free Report) surged 4%, 2.8% and 5.5%, respectively. Micron currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Crude Oil Prices Retreat
Crude oil prices declined following news that Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and his top national security official Mohsen Rezaei are considering options to end the ongoing war with the U.S.-Israel joint forces.
Consequently, the U.S. benchmark - West Texas Intermediate crude - futures fell 1.83% to settle at $99.90 per barrel, while the international benchmark - Brent crude - futures shed 1.67% to close at $113.88 a barrel.
Economic Data
The Conference Board reported that the consumer confidence index for October climbed to 91.7%, well above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 82.8%. The metric for September was revised upward to 84.2% from 81.9% reported earlier.
The Present Situation Index — based on consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions — increased to 120.4% in October from 111.8% in September. The Expectations Index — based on consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions — rose to 72.6% in October from 65.7% in September.
The S&P Cotality Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index posted a 2.1% annual gain for August 2026, up from a 1.9% rise in July. The 10-City Composite posted a 3.4% annual increase in August, up from 3.0% in July. The 20-City Composite increased 2.5% annually, up from 2.2% in July.
The Department of Commerce reported that the new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods increased 1.8% in September. The metric for August was revised upward to 0.1% from a break-even reported earlier. Shipments of manufactured durable goods increased 0.9% in September compared with 0.2% in August.
Excluding transportation, new orders for manufactured durable goods increased 0.5% in September. Non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending, rose 2.2% in September compared with 1.6% in August. This metric, which is popularly known as core capital goods orders jumped 10.9% year-over-year in September.
The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced that new home sales came in at 676,000 units in September, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 645,000 units. The metric for August was revised downward to 680,000 units from 684,000 units reported earlier.
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Stock Market News for Oct 28, 2026
U.S. stock markets closed higher on Tuesday buoyed by a rejuvenated artificial intelligence (AI) trade. A series of strong economic data also boosted market participants’ sentiment. Declining crude oil prices also remained a positive. All three major stock indexes ended in positive territory.
How Did the Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 16 points to close at 52,377.57 after a choppy session. Notably, 19 components of the 30-stock index ended in negative territory, while 11 ended in positive territory. At the intraday low, the blue-chip index was down nearly 130 points.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended at 26,477.81, advancing 1.2% or 308.43 points on strong performance of AI bigwigs. The S&P 500 was up 0.6% to finish at 7,722.60. However, six out of 11 sectors of the broad-market index closed in negative territory, while five were in positive territory. The Information Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) rose 1.7%, while, the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) fell 2.1%.
The fear gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 4.7% to 17.52. A total of 16.1 billion shares were traded on Tuesday, lower than the last 20-session average of 17.18 billion. Advancers outnumbered decliners by a 1.83-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, a 1.86-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues.
AI Trade Thriving
The AI trade rebounded on Monday, which continued on Tuesday too. Anthropic, the owner of the Claude AI platform has filed Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a planned listing on the Nasdaq Composite under the ticker symbol “ANT.” Market participants welcomed the company’s decision to pursue an initial public offering.
On Tuesday, the AI-powered semiconductor space regained momentum. The PHLX Semiconductor (SOX) advanced 3.6% and the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) appreciated 3.9%. Shares of AI-led semiconductor giants like Broadcom Inc. (AVGO - Free Report) , Micron Technology Inc. (MU - Free Report) and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD - Free Report) surged 4%, 2.8% and 5.5%, respectively. Micron currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Crude Oil Prices Retreat
Crude oil prices declined following news that Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and his top national security official Mohsen Rezaei are considering options to end the ongoing war with the U.S.-Israel joint forces.
Consequently, the U.S. benchmark - West Texas Intermediate crude - futures fell 1.83% to settle at $99.90 per barrel, while the international benchmark - Brent crude - futures shed 1.67% to close at $113.88 a barrel.
Economic Data
The Conference Board reported that the consumer confidence index for October climbed to 91.7%, well above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 82.8%. The metric for September was revised upward to 84.2% from 81.9% reported earlier.
The Present Situation Index — based on consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions — increased to 120.4% in October from 111.8% in September. The Expectations Index — based on consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions — rose to 72.6% in October from 65.7% in September.
The S&P Cotality Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index posted a 2.1% annual gain for August 2026, up from a 1.9% rise in July. The 10-City Composite posted a 3.4% annual increase in August, up from 3.0% in July. The 20-City Composite increased 2.5% annually, up from 2.2% in July.
The Department of Commerce reported that the new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods increased 1.8% in September. The metric for August was revised upward to 0.1% from a break-even reported earlier. Shipments of manufactured durable goods increased 0.9% in September compared with 0.2% in August.
Excluding transportation, new orders for manufactured durable goods increased 0.5% in September. Non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending, rose 2.2% in September compared with 1.6% in August. This metric, which is popularly known as core capital goods orders jumped 10.9% year-over-year in September.
The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced that new home sales came in at 676,000 units in September, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 645,000 units. The metric for August was revised downward to 680,000 units from 684,000 units reported earlier.