ASX set to rise, Wall Street higher as Fed cuts rates; Nvidia starts $US5 trillion club

3 months ago 31

By Stan Choe

October 30, 2025 — 5.27am

US stocks are rising toward more records on Wednesday as Wall Street, with AI giant Nvidia surging to become the first company valued at $US5 trillion ($7.6 trillion) on Wall Street.

The S&P 500 added 0.3 per cent, the Dow Jones was up 0.3 per cent and the Nasdaq composite was 0.5 per cent higher. All three indexes are coming off their latest all-time high. As expected, the Federal Reserve announced a cut to interest rates. Markets will be glued to Fed chair Jerome Powell’s press conference at 5.30am AEDT.

The Australian sharemarket is set to dip, with futures pointing to a slide of 6 points, or 0.1 per cent, at the open. The ASX lost 1 per cent on Wednesday. The Australian dollar was fetching US65.99¢ at 5.23am AEDT.

On Wall Street, the deluge continues of big US companies reporting how much profit they made during the summer. The pressure is on to deliver growth because that’s one way they can quiet criticism that their stock prices have shot too high in recent months.

Caterpillar rallied 12.2 per cent after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. CEO Joe Creed said Caterpillar saw resilient demand, as customers bought more equipment, even with a “dynamic environment.”

Teradyne soared 19.4 per cent after the company, which makes automated test equipment and advanced robotics systems, likewise reported stronger profit than analysts expected. CEO Greg Smith credited strength related to artificial-intelligence applications and said “AI-related test demand remains robust.”

Nvidia, meanwhile, was the strongest single force lifting the S&P 500 after rallying 2.7 per cent. Its $US5 trillion milestone comes just three months after the AI darling was the first to break through the $US4 trillion barrier.

They helped offset a 40.3 per cent plunge for Fiserv. The payments and financial technology company reported weaker profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, slashed its profit forecast for the year and revamped its board of directors and leadership team. The stock is heading toward its worst day since it began trading in 1986.

Mondelez International fell 3.7 per cent, even though it reported stronger results than analysts expected. The company, whose brands include Oreo cookies and Toblerone chocolate, has been dealing with record-high inflation for the cost of cocoa. It expects challenging conditions to continue in some markets, though it hopes that price increases are moderating for cocoa.

Market darling Nvidia just started a new club.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe following a stronger finish in Asia.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 jumped 2.2 per cent to another record. Seoul’s Kospi rose 1.8 per cent to its own all-time high after President Donald Trump met with South Korea’s leader following his visit in Japan.

Stocks rose 0.7 per cent in Shanghai ahead of a meeting between Trump and China’s leader, Xi Jinping. The world’s two largest economies have been locked in an escalating trade war, with Washington imposing high tariffs and tightened technology controls and China retaliating with curbs on rare earth shipments, one of its key sources of leverage.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.00 per cent from 3.99 per cent late Tuesday.

It’s been coming down from nearly 4.80 per cent early this year, a notable move for the bond market, as expectations have climbed for several cuts to rates by the Federal Reserve.

But the Fed has also warned that it may have to halt the cuts if inflation accelerates beyond its still-high level, because lower rates can worsen inflation.

Making an already tough course for Fed officials more difficult is the US government’s shutdown. That has delayed important updates on the economy that would normally help guide the Fed’s decision-making process.