To The Moon

We saw on Thursday (02 October), the three leading U.S. indexes closed at record highs, this is because investors shrugged off concerns tied to a U.S. government shutdown that had entered its second day.

Here is a summary of what happened in U.S. markets on Thursday, October 2, 2025 (the second day of the month / second trading day) — major moves, drivers, and standout gainers & losers:

Market Performance & Context

Index Moves / Summary

• The S&P 500 rose modestly by ~0.06 % to 6,715.35, closing at a record high.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained ~0.17 % to 46,519.72 (also a record close)

• The Nasdaq Composite led the gains, up ~0.39 % (or ~0.4 %) to 22,844.05

• On the small-cap front, the Russell 2000 also advanced (~0.7 %) to about 2,458.49

Despite headwinds from a U.S. government shutdown (which began October 1) and delayed economic releases, markets broadly shrugged it off, driven by strong momentum in tech and AI / semiconductor names.

Other financial market themes:

Yields on U.S. Treasuries drifted lower amid weaker macro signals.

The U.S. dollar weakened slightly vs. major peers.

Gold remained elevated, touching or approaching record levels.

Investor expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts continued to firm, especially given weak labor data and the shutdown’s impact on data release.

Key Drivers & Events

Government Shutdown

The U.S. federal government shut down at 12:01 a.m. EDT on October 1, 2025, following a lapse in appropriations.

Because of the shutdown, key economic releases (notably the September nonfarm payrolls) were delayed, creating uncertainty around labor data.

Investors largely treated the shutdown as a known risk, and so far its market impact has been muted.

Credit / Bureau Disruption via FICO Announcement

Fair Isaac (FICO) shares surged ~18 % after unveiling a new model allowing direct access to FICO scores for mortgage companies and bypassing traditional credit bureaus.

This announcement weighed heavily on credit bureau names: Equifax and TransUnion dropped ~8.5 % and ~10.6 %, respectively, on fears of disintermediation.

Deal / Asset Sales News

Occidental Petroleum (OXY) declined ~7.3 % after announcing it would sell its petrochemical (OxyChem) division to Berkshire Hathaway for $9.7 billion.

Intel got positive attention on reports it may take AMD as a foundry customer, which drove strength in semiconductor and tech sectors more broadly.

AI momentum continued: Nvidia hit new highs, and AI / chip / semiconductor plays broadly benefited from renewed investor enthusiasm.

Labor / Economic Data Weakness & Rate Cut Pricing

Private ADP employment estimates were weak, fueling expectations that the Fed may cut rates further.

With official data releases delayed, markets leaned heavily on alternative indicators and corporate updates.

Top Gainers & Losers (Notable Moves)

While full breadth lists can vary across sources, here are some of the more prominent gainers and losers of the day:

Gainers:

Fair Isaac (FICO): +18 % (driven by its credit score disintermediation move)

Rigetti Computing: +19 %, set a record high on quantum orders news

Kodiak AI: +15 % following disclosure of a ~5.7 % stake by Soros Fund Management

Bullish (crypto / trading platform): +12 % ahead of crypto options launch

Nvidia: Up ~0.9 %, making new highs, part of broader AI / semiconductor lift

Losers:

Tesla (TSLA): –5 % approximately, despite reporting a strong quarterly delivery number — concerns about the removal of EV tax credits weighed.

Equifax / TransUnion: Fell ~8.5 % and ~10.6 %, respectively, as they were negatively impacted by FICO’s new model.

Occidental Petroleum (OXY): –7.3 % following its announced divestment deal.

Some large-cap names also dragged the Dow earlier in the session (Merck, Disney) according to intraday data.

Other names across tech, semiconductor, AI, and specialty tech / quantum / crypto sectors had a strong showing, while energy and old-economy names tended to lag.

In the next section we have compiled a ranked top-10 gainers and top-10 losers list for U.S. trading on October 2, 2025, and a short sector-rotation comparison across the day.

Top 10 Gainers — Oct 2, 2025 (cross-checked intraday leaders)

FICO (FI) — Fair Isaac — ~+18–26% (surged after product/market access announcement).

ONDS (ONDS) — Ondas Holdings — ~+24–27% (one of the highest % gainers on the day).

USAR (USA Rare Earth) — ~+25–27% (reactive move in rare-earth / materials names).

FLNC (Fluence Energy) — ~+20–25% (appeared on several day-gainer lists).

TAYSHA (TSHA) — Taysha Gene Therapies — strong single-day jump (biotech momentum name).

Kodiak AI (KODK / or KODAK-style ticker / small AI names) — double-digit gains in AI-linked small caps (multiple small-cap AI/quantum names moved strongly).

Rigetti Computing (RGTI) — quantum computing / small-cap tech runner — strong intraday gain.

Coinbase (COIN) — +~7–8% (crypto strength lift).

Robinhood (HOOD) — +~4–5% (benefitted from crypto optimism).

Various small-cap / biotech / quantum / AI names — (examples: Kodiak AI, other micro-caps that printed double digit gains) — these populated the rest of top-10 gainers lists across vendors.

Top 10 Losers — Oct 2, 2025 (cross-checked intraday biggest decliners)

TransUnion (TRU) — ~-10% to -11.6% (hit hard after FICO announcement).

Equifax (EFX) — ~-8% to -9% (same theme — competitive threat from FICO).

Occidental Petroleum (OXY) — ~-7% (share decline after announced sale of OxyChem and deal headlines).

Tesla (TSLA) — ~-4% to -5% (intraday weakness despite strong delivery numbers; volatile session).

Edison International (EIX) — material intraday decline after federal-grant pullback headlines.

Rivian (RIVN) — down (part of EV/auto weakness on the day / included on some top-loser feeds).

Rocket Companies (RKT) — included among larger intraday decliners in several feed lists.

AES / Energy names — some mid-cap energy/utilities retraced after prior-day moves (AES was noted as volatile).

Lithium Americas (LAC) — slipped after analyst downgrade mentioned in day stories.

Other micro-cap losers — a range of small-cap names that printed double-digit drops on heavy volume (varies by data vendor).

Intraday sector rotation & themes (Oct 2 highlights)

1. Tech / Semiconductors / AI — Net inflows / leadership

Semiconductors and AI-related names (NVIDIA, Intel, AMD and related suppliers) were net leaders for the day — Nvidia set or approached new highs and chip/AI optimism supported the group. Intel and AMD moved higher on foundry / customer chatter. This was the primary market-lead theme.

2. Small-cap / speculative / quantum & biotech spikes

Many top % gainers were small-cap biotech, quantum, and AI startups (Rigetti, Kodiak AI, Taysha, Ondas, etc.). These names printed large intraday % moves on news or momentum flows. That boosted Russell 2000 relative performance.

3. Financials / Credit bureaus — rotation out

A clear rotation out of credit-reporting names (Equifax, TransUnion) occurred as FICO’s announcement spooked the sector. Financials broadly were mixed; some fintech/crypto-adjacent stocks (Coinbase, Robinhood) outperformed on crypto strength.

4. Energy / Materials — mixed, headline-driven

Energy saw mixed action: Occidental (OXY) fell on asset-sale headlines, while other energy names were flat to softer. Materials/mining/rare-earth names had episodic strength (USA Rare Earth).

5. Safe / defensive names — muted

Utilities and defensive staples were generally flat, though some utility grant/aid headlines (Edison) produced outsized moves in single names.

Net picture: risk-on toward AI/semiconductors + small-cap speculative tech/biotech, simultaneous targeted selling in credit bureaus and some headline-hit names in energy/chemicals. That produced a market internals picture of narrow breadth despite major indices ticking to new highs.

Summary

The second day of trading in October 2025, October 2nd, saw a mixed but generally positive session for US markets, primarily driven by strong performance in the technology and healthcare sectors, despite ongoing concerns over a US government shutdown.

Key Events and Highlights:

• US Market Gains: The $NASDAQ(.IXIC)$ and $S&P 500(.SPX)$ posted small gains (up 0.33% and 0.14%, respectively), with the Nasdaq hitting a record close, fueled by optimism in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and cloud technology stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also finished slightly higher (up 0.23%).

• Government Shutdown Impact: Key economic data releases, such as the weekly jobless claims report, were delayed due to the government funding gap, adding a layer of caution for investors who were largely betting on a short-lived shutdown.

Notable Gainers and Losers (US Market Focus):

• Top Gainers included AI-related giants like $NVIDIA(NVDA)$ and $Microsoft(MSFT)$, alongside consumer and manufacturing stocks such as $Nike(NKE)$ and Caterpillar.

• Top Losers included select retail and financial stocks, with Walmart experiencing a notable decline.

Appreciate if you could share your thoughts in the comment section whether you think the week would close in the green with continued strength from AI related stocks.

@TigerStars @Daily_Discussion @Tiger_Earnings @TigerWire @MillionaireTiger appreciate if you could feature this article so that fellow tiger would benefit from my investing and trading thoughts.

Disclaimer: The analysis and result presented does not recommend or suggest any investing in the said stock. This is purely for Analysis.