• Modest gains lead to record closes. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial average notched record closes on Tuesday. Investors digested China's launch of aggressive stimulus and a notable dip in US consumer sentiment. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.56%. 
• A recovery from the Consumer Confidence data dip. The indexes made a rebound after a new consumer confidence index reading. The Conference Board's index fell to 98.7 in September, below the 105.6 seen in August and lower than what the 104 economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected.
• The Fed's jumbo interest rate cut has also helped stocks move higher. The Fed's jumbo rate cut last week kicked off the rally and this week several policymakers hinted that the door is open for more big moves. Fed governor Michelle Bowman said on Tuesday that she dissented to last week's half percentage point interest rate cut because "upside risks to inflation remain prominent."
• News from China also drove momentum. China has launched a raft of stimulus measures, its biggest since the pandemic. Chinese online retail giants Alibaba, Pinduoduo, and JD.com were all up at least 6%.
• U.S home prices hit record high. U.S. home prices hit a record high in July. The S&P Case-Shiller National Home Price Index rose 0.2% over the prior month in July on a seasonally adjusted basis, unchanged from June’s monthly increase. This marked the sixth consecutive monthly increase and an all-time high for the index.
• Visa shares slid. Shares of credit card company Visa dropped about 5% after the US Department of Justice sued the credit card giant for antitrust violations.
• Intel shares rose on new product announcements. Intel stock rose nearly 2% as the chipmaker announced a slew of new products.
• Novo Nordisk CEO spoke to the Senate. Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Jørgensen told lawmakers Tuesday he was willing to sit down with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to discuss a lower price for Wegovy and Ozempic.
• Bitcoin pushes past $64K. Bitcoin took aim at rising past $65,000 for the first time since early August

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 "Geopolitics is getting worse," noting it could be a reason why inflation isn't yet under control. “My caution is all geopolitics, which may determine the state of the economy," said JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon (in an interview with CNBC TV18 while attending a JPMorgan conference in Mumbai, India)

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Most Active Stocks

• Apple (AAPL)
• McDonald's Corp. (MCD)
• AT&T (T)
• GE Aerospace (GE)
• Nvidia (NVDA)
• Tesla (TSLA)
• Alibaba Group Holdings (BABA)
• Visa (V)
• The Home Depot (HD)
• Nio, Inc. (NIO)

In the Spotlight

PayPal Shares Explode After Deutsche Bank Increases its Price Target

PayPal shares climbed higher after Deutsche Bank lifted its price target to $94 from $74 and reiterated its "BUY" rating. The increase comes after multiple quarters of improvements across the business, most notably the key metric of normalized net transaction revenue growth. The bank believes the company “has multiple avenues” to continue improving take rates and profitability through the unbranded business, adding new positive revenue streams through Fastlane and working diligently to improve Branded growth rates.

Starbucks Shares Downgraded by Jefferies

Starbucks got a downgrade this week as the company will need time to "brew a fresh pot," said Jefferies analyst Andy Barish. On Tuesday, before the market open, Barish downgraded shares of the coffee company to Underperform and lowered his price target to $76, citing "a lot of uncertainty over the next 12 months" following the "big run" in the past six weeks since Chipotle's Brian Niccol was named CEO.