Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York City, U.S., Sept. 11, 2025. <\/p>\n
Brendan McDermid | Reuters<\/p>\n
The S&P 500<\/a> and Nasdaq Composite<\/a> closed at record highs on Monday, spurred by optimism about increased mergers and acquisitions activity after two major deals were announced.<\/p>\n The broad market S&P 500 gained 0.36% to end the day at 6,740.28, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 0.71% to finish at 22,941.67. The Dow Jones Industrial Average<\/a>, however, fell 63.31 points, or 0.14%, to close at 46,694.97, weighed down by a decline in shares of Sherwin-Williams<\/a> and Home Depot<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Russell 2000 closed at a record high after crossing 2,500 for the first time<\/a>. It settled up 0.4% at 2,486.36. <\/p>\n The S&P 500 and Nasdaq saw a boost from AMD<\/a> jumping almost 24% after the company reached a deal<\/a> with Sam Altman’s AI leader that could ultimately end up giving the ChatGPT company a 10% stake in the chipmaker. AMD will use certain graphics processing units rolled out over multiple years. Nvidia<\/a>, AMD’s main competitor in graphics processors<\/a>, came under pressure following that announcement.<\/p>\n Additionally, Comerica<\/a> shares rallied nearly 14% after Fifth Third Bancorp reached a deal<\/a> to buy the fellow regional bank for $10.9 billion in an all-stock transaction. The merger will form the ninth-largest U.S. bank by assets. The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF<\/a> jumped 1% on expectations more deals were ahead in the space. Overall M&A has been picking up, adding to the animal spirits seen in the stock market this year.<\/p>\n “There is clearly an optimistic view of growth in the long term,” said Brian Mulberry, senior client portfolio manager at Zacks Investment Management. “There is a more business (and bank) friendly regulatory environment and everyone expects rates to be much lower by this time next year, perhaps even as much as 1.25% lower, making the return on these deals much better and faster.”<\/p>\n