Stock Market Today: Nike, Eli Lily surge; Robinhood slips

Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025

The government shutdown began at midnight on October 1, after Congress failed to reach a consensus in time to avert it. The stock market, though, remains optimistic, given the positive start for October.

Market index returns:

• The S&P 500 was up 0.34%, reaching a 52-week high during trading.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up slightly at 0.1%.
• The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.42%
• The Russell 2000 was up 0.4%.

Notably, the 10-year Treasury yield saw a 0.033% dip after the government shutdown. If the shutdown continues for an extended period, it may begin to impact the market. However, shutdowns have historically been short and haven't produced significant sell-offs.

For now, the jobs data from the Department of Labor will be delayed. It had been expected on Friday morning.

Additionally, Vice President JD Vance stated in a press briefing today that layoffs can be expected if the shutdown continues.

Gold, which usually soars amid challenging economic times, reached a new all-time high on Wednesday, up 0.63%. J.P. Morgan already expects prices to rise toward $4,000/oz by the second quarter of 2026.

Nike was a top performer, gaining 6.4% after the release of its Q1 2026 earnings report, beating expectations. Eli Lilly, a pharmaceutical company, continued to rally on President Trumps deal with Pfizer, which promises cheaper medicines for Americans. Its stock was up 8.2% today on hopes it will similarly ink an agreement.

Reddit, a popular online forum, suffered at the hands of ChatGPT, experiencing a 11.9% decline on Wednesday.

Here are the Stocks that made the biggest market moves todayFive S&P 500 stocks making big moves today are:

• AES Corp: +16.8%
• Biogen Inc BIIB: +10.1%
• Thermo Fisher TMO: +9.4%
• Super Micro Computer SMCI: +9.3%
• Charles River Laboratories: +8.9%

The worst-performing five S&P 500 stocks today are:

• Corteva Inc CTVA: -9.1%
• News Corp Class B: -6%
• News Corp Class A: -5.7%
• Humana Inc HUM: -5.2%
• Interpublic Group of Companies: -5%

Stocks also worth noting include:

• Nike NKE: +6.4%
• Pfizer PFE: -6.8%
• Taiwan Semiconductor TSM: +3.4%
• Merck&Co MRK: +7.4%
• Lithium Americas LAC: +23.3%.

Nike races ahead with earnings report

Nike's stock rose 5.7% at the market's opening today, following its release of the Q1 2026 report on Tuesday evening. Its shares closed the session at $74.20.

Last year, on this day, Nike's stock was $89.13.

More Personal Finance:

• Suze Ormans 5 best pieces of financial advice
• Dave Ramsey shares key insight on mortgage rates
• Jean Chatzky makes key statement as Social Security change looms

The company reported quarterly revenue of $11.7 billion, up 1% from last year, but it reported a 6% year-over-year decline in gross profit margin, down to $4.96 million from $5.94 billion.

The primary reason for the profit margin squeeze was attributed to higher tariffs in North America and lower average selling prices.

Yet Nike stock rose today, partly due to investor confidence in Nikes rebound in North American, European, Middle Eastern, and African (EMEA) sales.

The North America region grew 5%:

• +11% increase in apparel
• +16% increase in equipment

EMEA revenue grew 1%:

• +11% in apparel

China reported a 10% loss.

Elliot Hill, President & CEO, Nike, Inc., acknowledged the challenges in an official statement,

While we‘re getting winds under our belt, we still have work ahead to get all sports, geographies, and channels on a similar path as we manage a dynamic operating environment. I’m confident that we have the right focus in Win Now and that our new alignment in the Sport Offense will be the key to maximizing Nike, Inc.s complete portfolio over the long-term.

Nike also recently announced a deal with Skims, a solutions-first clothing brand by Kim Kardashian.

Eli Lilly rallies on drug agreements

After President Donald Trump announced a first-of-a-kind deal with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to reduce drug prices across America, it boosted the stock prices of other companies in the sector.

Eli Lilly emerged as a top gainer, with its stock up 7.9% today, following news that it is also negotiating with the Trump administration to become the second drugmaker to provide comparable drug prices to Americans.

The multi-billion-dollar company is primarily known for its diabetes and obesity medications, such as Mounjaro and Zepbound. Its stock price has increased 6.8% year-to-date.

Reddit is losing ground amidst AI concerns

Reddit , one of the most popular online forums, saw a 10.7% decrease in its stock today, slipping further away from its 52-week high of $282.95 that it reached in September 2025.

Promptwatch, which conducts regular Ai-driven research revealed that OpenAIs ChatGPT only cited 2-4% of Reddit content for social media references.

Reddit still remains the most cited site, compared with LinkedIn, which is only 0.4%, and YouTube, which was at 0.2%.

However, this immediately raises questions about the forums credibility amidst concerns about reduced daily user traffic, affecting the firm's stock.

A year ago, in 2024, Reddit struck a data-sharing deal valued at $60 million with Alphabet‘s Google. Now, according to a Bloomberg report, Reddit is in early talks with Google for a second deal to integrate Google’s AI products more deeply with Reddit.

If the deal commences, it will encourage Reddit users to engage more actively on its platform, driving increased traffic and subsequent revenue.