Dow Jones hits record high as US signals rate cut
23 Aug 2025

Wall Street's key indexes closed on a positive note on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting a new record.

The rally was fueled by US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's suggestion of a potential interest-rate cut in his speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium.

The Dow surged 846.24 points or 1.89% to 45,631.74, surpassing its most recent record close on December 4.

Traders heavily betting on September rate cut
Market response

Powell's remarks have sparked a wave of optimism among traders, who are now betting heavily on a September rate cut.

The likelihood of this reduction is now pegged at nearly 90%, up from about 75% before his speech.

Nigel Green, CEO of deVere Group, said Powell "kept the door open" for a potential cut in September to reassure households and businesses.

Consumer discretionary stocks lead S&P 500 sectors
Index performance

The S&P 500 index followed suit with a gain of 96.74 points or 1.52%, closing at 6,466.91.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also posted a strong performance, rising by 396.22 points or 1.88% to close at 21,496.54.

Consumer discretionary stocks led the charge in the S&P 500's sectors, rising by an impressive 3.18%.

Tesla shares jump by 6.2%
Stock surge

The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index jumped 2.7%, while most megacap growth stocks also witnessed a rally.

Tesla led the charge with a 6.2% jump in its share price. Among other top movers, Intel gained 5.5% amid a lardmark stake deal with the US government.

The rate-sensitive Russell 2000 Index also joined the party, surging by an impressive 4.1% to its highest level this year.

S&P ends 5-day losing streak
Market recovery

The S&P 500 ended its five-day losing streak on Friday, following a broad selloff in heavyweight technology stocks that had pressured US equities this week.

Despite the recent slump, US stocks have rebounded sharply from April lows when markets were rattled by President Donald Trump's tariff announcements.

A spate of resilient earnings, optimism around trade deals and growing chances of interest-rate cuts have been some of the main gain drivers.