By Connor Smith | Tuesday, September 9

Winning Time. The stock market did something today that hasn't happened since early December: The big three indexes all closed at records at the same time.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose nearly 200 points, or 0.4%, to mark its third closing high of 2025. The S&P 500 rose 0.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4%. Both marked their 22nd record closes this year.

The market rose despite some early jitters surrounding the Bureau of Labor Statistics' latest update on the labor market. Barron's Megan Leonhardt explains:

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Tuesday that it marked down previously reported net payroll gains by 911,000 in the 12 months through March. That means instead of adding about 1.8 million positions as originally reported, the U.S. economy created only 847,000 jobs. Economists’ estimates of how big the preliminary benchmark revisions would be varied widely, but most expected to see a reduction in previously reported monthly payroll growth.

The BLS releases benchmark revisions to align the monthly data collected via the Current Employment Statistics survey with more comprehensive payroll data that is available on a delay. The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), which includes information from unemployment insurance programs, is a part of that.

Tuesday’s revision, however, is an initial estimate. Final benchmark revisions will be made in February 2026.

Despite the massive shift, odds of a half-point interest-rate cut next week were down to 6.2%, while odds of a quarter-point cut were up to 93.8%. As Megan points out, the numbers aren't final, and refer to labor market conditions months ago. Still, she argues it could add to momentum for multiple, consecutive cuts.

The update was watched by Wall Street in the wake of President Donald Trump’s firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer. Rosenberg Research's David Rosenberg notes that in the past three years, initial monthly jobs numbers have been overstated by more than 2 million.

“In contrast to the constant complaints coming out of the White House, this is not about how inadequate the BLS is when it comes to estimating the monthly data, or that it is in desperate need of AI tools, but rather the vagaries involved in having to do this exercise immediately and accurately given all the economic distortions in recent years caused by the pandemic and the incredible shifts we have seen in immigration flows,” Rosenberg says.

The market took the numbers in stride, and big days for UnitedHealth and Goldman Sachs allowed the Dow to join the record close festivities.

The next big test for the market will be tomorrow's BLS release of the producer price index for August  and Thursday's consumer price index.

DJIA: +0.43% to 45,711.34
S&P 500: +0.27% to 6,512.61
Nasdaq: +0.37% to 21,879.49

The Hot Stock: UnitedHealth Group +8.6%
The Biggest Loser:  Humana -12.0%

Best Sector: Utilities +0.6%
Worst Sector: Materials -1.6%

Apple's Not-So-Big Day

There was a time when Apple's iPhone event was appointment viewing for everyone on Wall Street. Not this year.

The iPhone maker unveiled its newest line of phones and other devices to little fanfare from markets. Apple stock dropped 1.5%—though a drop on the event isn't atypical even during its big years.

The bigger problem is Apple has fallen 6.4% this year, which is well behind the Nasdaq Composite's 13% rise and the S&P 500's nearly 11% gain. Apple has lagged its so-called Magnificent Seven peers in part because Wall Street hasn't been thrilled with its efforts to capitalize on the artificial intelligence trend.

The firm's Apple Intelligence offering got a few mentions during today's event, including a big update to Apple's Airpods Pro. My Barron's colleague Angela Palumbo explains:

Apple said at its product event Tuesday that its launching AirPods Pro 3. The new model has a longer battery life than its predecessors.

Along with the new product, Apple is launching live language translation with AirPod Pros. People can have conversations with someone who speaks a different language, and will hear the translation of that conversation live in their AirPods.

Still, the main focus for the event was the new iPhones, not AI. Angela writes:

The biggest standout of the day is the iPhone Air, Apple's first major change in smartphone design in years. The Air is the thinnest iPhone ever but still hosts Apple's top processor, the A19 Pro.

Apple also delivered a rare price hike: After years of being priced at $999, the iPhone 17 Pro will start at $1,099, a $100 price bump from last year’s model. The iPhone Air starts at $999, or the former starting price of the Pro line.

While the price points may be a barrier for some customers amid an uncertain economic environment, they could provide a boost to Apple's revenue, especially if the iPhone Air is a hit with customesr.

"The big pop comes from a redesigned 'Air' iPhone aesthetic that will likely spur interest in a group that’s been reluctant to upgrade their old models for the lack of a differentiated option," Forrester’s VP Principal Analyst Dipanjan Chatterjee wrote on Tuesday.

If Apple can revive interest in upgrading iPhones, it could help the stock as the firm chases Nvidia and Microsoft on the market cap rankings. And hey, if AI turns out to be a bubble, Apple is among the most insulated from any such burst in the Mag 7.

You can read more Barron's coverage of the Apple event here.