Stocks end higher with Robinhood surge lifting Nasdaq to new all-time high

The Nasdaq Composite ended Monday at a record high, closing up 0.45% at 21,798.70, after touching a fresh all-time intraday peak during the session.

The S&P 500 added 0.21% to finish at 6,495.15, while the Dow Jones gained 114.09 points, or 0.25%, to settle at 45,514.95.

Broad tech gains pushed everything higher. Broadcom rose 3%, while Nvidia, after a rough month, finally bounced back by almost 1%. Big names like Amazon and Microsoft also moved up.

But the real story of the day was Robinhood, which exploded nearly 15% by midday after S&P Global confirmed it would be added to the S&P 500. AppLovin jumped 12% on the same news. Both names were on pace for their best trading sessions since April.

Tesla pay plan, inflation reports, Fed bets move markets

Tesla was also back in the headlines. As Cryptopolitan previously reported, the company’s board wants shareholders to approve a $975 billion compensation plan for Elon Musk. According to Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas, the deal eases worries about Musk staying committed. He said, “It’s a good deal for Tesla investors.” Jonas argued the number is big, but not outrageous if you believe in Tesla’s long-term robot plans.

Musk has said that 80% of Tesla’s future value will come from its humanoid Optimus robots, not from cars. Tesla shares are still down 14.3% for the year, but they’ve climbed back 9% this past quarter. The company now looks less like a carmaker and more like a robotics bet, and that’s what the market’s watching.

Meanwhile, traders are staring down two inflation reports this week. Producer price index (PPI) data for August drops on Wednesday morning, followed by the consumer price index (CPI) on Thursday.

This comes after Friday’s weak jobs report, which made investors even more sure that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its next policy meeting. According to the CME FedWatch tool, the odds are rising for a half-point cut.

There’s a lot of Fed optimism right now. Lower rates mean easier money and more fuel for tech stocks. That’s why every inflation number this week will matter a lot.

Speaking to CNBC, Ross Mayfield, strategist at Baird Private Wealth, said, “There just continues to be great momentum for AI spend, AI infrastructure buildout,” adding that it’s not just about the Magnificent Seven anymore. “The average tech stock is doing really well,” he said. “There’s kind of a broad-based strength.”