Nasdaq at a Record, Yields Still High: What Is the Market Betting On?

The Nasdaq reached another record on Monday and Nvidia closed at a new high, even as long-term borrowing costs remained near multi-decade highs.

Today’s Clear Markets asks why technology stocks can keep rising in a high-rate world. We look at AI earnings expectations, Nvidia’s valuation hurdle, Schneider Electric’s $22.6 billion PTC deal, global bond-market pressure, oil, gold, and the key question heading into earnings season: can profits grow fast enough to justify the prices investors are already paying?

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Key Takeaways
• The Nasdaq closed at a record while the S&P 500 rose 0.66% and Nvidia gained 2.1% to a record close.
• Weak September employment reduced the urgency for another Fed hike, but long-term yields remain unusually high.
• The rally is increasingly a bet that AI-linked earnings growth can outrun a high cost of capital.
• Schneider Electric's PTC acquisition shows why a strong strategic story still has to justify the price paid and the financing required.
• The coming earnings season is the next major test: at high expectations, even good results may not be enough.
• For AI, the next phase is about return on capital - utilization, power, financing, depreciation and productivity.