Nasdaq Hits Record High as AMD Crosses 1 Trillion Dollar Mark and AI Stocks Lead Market Rally
The Nasdaq Composite closed at a record high of 27,122 on September 21, 2026, its first record finish since June 2. The rally was led by AI and semiconductor stocks, with AMD rising 10 percent to cross the $1 trillion market cap threshold and Intel jumping 12 percent.
The Nasdaq Composite closed at a record high of 27,122.09 on September 21, 2026, its first record finish since June 2, as artificial intelligence and semiconductor stocks drove a broad market rally.
AMD rose 10 percent on the day, pushing its market capitalization above $1 trillion for the first time in the company's history. Intel jumped 12 percent. The S&P 500 gained 1.49 percent to close at 7,764.70, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.71 percent to 52,048.83.
The rally was supported by a decline in Treasury yields and a drop in oil prices. The 10-year Treasury yield fell 3.3 basis points to 4.962 percent. Crude oil dropped 4.5 percent to $95.78 per barrel, reacting to reports of potential diplomatic progress between the U.S. and Iran.
AMD's milestone came after the company disclosed a deal with Anthropic for 2 gigawatts of its MI450 GPU chips. CEO Lisa Su had forecast that AMD's data center revenue would more than double in 2027. The company's data center unit reported $6.7 billion in sales in the second quarter of 2026, a 107 percent increase from the prior year.
Citigroup upgraded Fifth Third to "Buy" during the session, citing favorable conditions for net interest income growth. KKR announced the creation of a new equipment-finance company, Akrapoint Commercial Capital, with an initial $350 million investment.
On Holding authorized a $1 billion share repurchase program through 2029. Coherent Corp. announced a new integrated optics platform aimed at AI data centers.
