And we have another record on Wall Street. One can hardly believe that only ten days have passed since the epic correction of October 10, with so many volatile moves in gold and crypto, and equity markets as well. However, the tech heavy Nasdaq 100 has made history again, setting its new all-time high above 25,200 points during the first hours of October 21. The benchmark index of 100 companies with huge market capitalization recovered so quickly thanks to investors' calmness regarding the Sino-American trade dispute and remarkable gains from Apple Co. The issue with a value of now about $4 trillion added nearly 4% in a single trading session this Monday to close the day at $262.24.

The climb provided Apple with the position of the second most valuable company in the world after AI-chip giant Nvidia, which is probably going to rise soon too. The fresh data from research firm Counterpoint confirmed that the iPhone 17 series outperformed its predecessor by 14% in early sales in both China and the U.S. This was a crucially positive sign amidst tariff concerns. Many reputable investment houses hastily added Apple to their list of potential outperformers prompting further potential to beat average market bets for the October-to-December quarter report, as the company is set to publish Q3 2025 report on October 30-31 night. Analysts especially noted the growing number of online orders in Asian countries, which was evidence of solid initial demand at launch already. In August, Apple pledged $100 billion in additional U.S. investment to sidestep tariffs damage, reviving the company's growth momentum. Google-parent Alphabet with $3 trillion of its market value also made a solid contribution hitting a new record high of $256.55 to cap 50% gains over the past four months.

Wall St sentiment also got a boost, when U.S. president Donald Trump said in a TV interview that his meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in South Korea will go ahead later this month and the U.S. is "going to be fine with China". As we supposed a week before, he promoted the concept of a triple-digit tariffs on China that would not need to be implemented after November 1 or whenever. Besides, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noted he expects to meet with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng this week, preventing an escalation regarding levies. Chinese sources say both sides held "constructive discussions" already.

By the way, even if the Nasdaq 100 and the S&P 500 broad market indicators may slip some later after hitting fresh record highs, historical experience shows "no penalty for buying S&P 500" even at all-time highs, according to investigations of the Bank of America. They said in a client's note that investors should not fear buying U.S. equities at record levels, as “over the past fifty years, S&P 500 returns showed no penalty versus buying on any other occasion, and five years later there was on average a meaningful boost”. While “buying equities at all-time highs may feel like a mistake,” historical performance suggests otherwise. However, our team of analysts is banking on at least 7,000 for the S&P 500 accompanied by 28,000 as the next target for Nasdaq 100 futures by the end of the year. Both benchmarks are propelled by possible Federal Reserve interest rate cuts next week and then again in December together with a very strong earnings season. A major pullback would barely happen before then.