Update: S&P 500, Nasdaq Hit Record Highs as Focus Shifts to Fed Minutes

04:48 PM EDT, 10/06/2026 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with market moves at the end of the day, and other changes, if any.) The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite hit record highs on Tuesday as Treasury yields declined ahead of the Federal Reserve's meeting minutes due Wednesday. The S&P 500 added 0.6% to settle at 7,818.93, while the Nasdaq gained 0.5% to 27,599.79 to notch a back-to-back new peak. Both are up for the fourth and fifth day in a row, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% to 51,521.28, extending its rally into the fourth session. Barring healthcare, all sectors ended in the green, led by utilities. The 10-year Treasury yield was last down 3.2 basis points at 5.28%, while the two-year rate fell 3.8 basis points to 4.80%. The Fed will publish the minutes from its September meeting on Wednesday, offering insights into the monetary policy trajectory. Policymakers announced a 25-basis-point rate increase at the meeting, marking the first rate hike in just over three years aimed at bringing elevated inflation back to the 2% target. Markets are currently pricing in an 81% probability that the Fed will keep its benchmark rate steady later this month, according to the CME FedWatch tool. In economic news, the US trade deficit increased in August to its highest level since March 2025 as imports hit a record high, official data showed Tuesday. The trade deficit widened in part due to an artificial intelligence-induced surge in capital goods imports, Grace Zwemmer, US economist at Oxford Economics, said in a note. "Although net trade is on track to pose a sizeable drag on (third-quarter gross domestic product), roughly half of the drag will be offset by a 1.4 (percentage point) contribution to GDP growth from booming equipment spending," Zwemmer said. Brent crude oil was up 0.7% at $100.99 a barrel in Tuesday late-afternoon trade, while West Texas Intermediate rose 0.4% to $89.81. Attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz have intensified this month even as oil shipments through the critical energy chokepoint climb back toward pre-Iran war levels, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday, citing data from UK Maritime Trade Operations. Shares of retail giants Walmart (WMT) and Home Depot (HD) were among the top gainers on the Dow, both up 2%. Amazon (AMZN) shares also advanced. In other company news, Constellation Energy (CEG) shares jumped 12%, among the top gainers on the S&P 500. The company agreed to collaborate with Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) Google on 3,590 megawatts of power as part of a long-term energy strategy to meet demand and improve grid reliability. Both class A and C shares of Alphabet edged higher. Drug distributor McKesson (MCK) and private investment firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice agreed to acquire Option Care Health (OPCH) in a roughly $5.8 billion deal. Option Care's shares surged 33%, while those of McKesson added 0.6%. Spot gold rose 0.7% to $4,168.69 per troy ounce, while silver climbed 0.8% to $61.81 per ounce.