Nasdaq hits record as dollar and Treasury yields climb

Wall Street stocks surged on Monday, propelled by strong performance in large-cap companies like Nvidia, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft, as Treasury yields and the dollar reached multiyear highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite all gained, with the Nasdaq Composite reaching a new record high. Despite weaker-than-expected US jobs data in September, leading to doubts about a Federal Reserve rate hike this month, major European stock indexes still closed higher, although French equities dropped to a six-month low due to fiscal concerns.

Latin American markets also benefited from a rally in Brazilian stocks and the real currency, as a right-wing senator outperformed expectations in the first round of the presidential election. MSCI's global stock gauge rose by 0.7%. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management's Lisa Shalett pointed out that her team is monitoring equity market revisions, high-yield bond spreads, and US dollar strength amid the perfect storm of accelerating economic growth and AI's influence.

While the euro recovered slightly to trade at US$1.122, investor concerns over France's debt and political instability continue to weigh on the single currency.