U.S. Stocks Reach New Record Highs as Intel Skyrockets, Local Sentiment Dampened by the Revocation of Sanctions Relief

Wall Street’s main indexes reached record highs Thursday, with chipmaker Intel surging after Nvidia announced plans to acquire a $5 billion stake in the company.

Intel shares jumped over 22% on news of Nvidia’s investment and their partnership agreement covering data centre and PC processors. The collaboration aims to merge Intel’s x86 architecture and manufacturing capabilities with Nvidia’s graphics and AI platforms, addressing investor concerns about Intel’s competitive position.

This partnership follows recent White House efforts to secure government investment in Intel and represents a significant opportunity for the struggling chipmaker after years of failed turnaround attempts. The semiconductor rally extended beyond Intel, with Applied Materials and Micron posting strong gains as the entire sector benefited from the positive sentiment.

The S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Dow Jones all closed at record levels, driven by the Fed’s rate cut and expectations of further monetary easing. Technology stocks, particularly semiconductors, powered the broad market advance.

Small-cap stocks led the rally, with the Russell 2000 climbing 2.5% and outpacing major indices as investors rotated into rate-sensitive sectors.

Economic data showed mixed signals. Initial jobless claims fell more than expected to 231,000 in the week ended September 13th, down 33,000 from the previous week’s revised 264,000 level. Economists had forecast a decline to 240,000. However, the Conference Board’s leading economic index dropped 0.5% in August, significantly worse than the expected 0.1% decline, after rising a revised 0.1% in July.

The Bank of Japan is expected to maintain current interest rates today as policymakers assess the economy’s resilience to potential U.S. tariffs under President Trump.

Back home, initial pre-bookings for Apple’s new iPhone 17 series in India have surged well ahead of last year’s iPhone 16 launch figures, signalling robust consumer momentum as the festive season approaches.

The US has revoked the sanctions waiver for India and other countries at Iran’s Chabahar port, which had previously allowed these nations to continue development work without facing US penalties. This decision will significantly impact India’s strategic plans to develop the Shahid Beheshti terminal at Chabahar port as an alternative trading route that bypasses Pakistan for shipping cargo to Afghanistan and Central Asia.

The Nifty continued its impressive upward rally yesterday, gaining 93 points or 0.37% to close at 25,423. Positive developments in trade negotiations with the US and ongoing local GST reforms have continued to bolster market sentiment. The index has now risen in 12 of the last 14 trading sessions, recovering more than 1,000 points from its recent swing low of 24,404 registered on August 29, 2025.

The Nifty remains in a sustained uptrend with immediate support positioned near 25,250, the previous swing high on the daily charts. On the upside, key resistance levels to monitor are 25,550 and 25,670. Indian markets are poised to open mildly lower despite positive global cues, as investor sentiment has been dampened by the revocation of sanctions relief for India at Iran’s Chabahar port.

Source: HDFC Securities Prime Daily, 19 Sept 2025

Disclaimer:At HDFC SKY, we take utmost care and due diligence in curating and presenting news and market-related content. However, inadvertent errors or omissions may occasionally occur.

If you have any concerns, questions, or wish to point out any discrepancies in our content, please feel free to write to us at content@hdfcsec.com.