Nasdaq Hits Record as Bond Yields Spike: Shopify, TSMC and Guardant in Focus

Bond markets flashed red while equities hit records; that was the story as Wall Street closed Monday, October 5, 2026. According to Business Insider (businessinsider.com), the 10-year US Treasury yield jumped 7 basis points intraday to 5.35 percent, its highest level since 2002. Yet instead of punishing growth stocks as textbooks predict, the session ended with the Nasdaq at a record; investors entered the final quarter with clear risk appetite .

The session was framed by Investor's Business Daily hosts Alissa Coram and Rachel Fox, who walked through Monday's price action and flagged the key stocks to watch. The format runs fast: charts flip quickly and every name gets a trading plan treatment with entry levels. I followed that flow and expanded each topic with independently verified data.

The Backdrop of a Record Day

Megacap technology did the heavy lifting behind the record. Despite the yield spike, money flowed into large names with strong balance sheets and an AI story. That suggests the market can look through higher rates for a while, but the cost of looking away keeps compounding. This is precisely the fragile balance : discount rates rising at the same time as the index.

Shopify and the AI Showcase

One of the day's stars was Shopify. The company unveiled Canvas, a new store builder powered by its Sidekick AI assistant that lets merchants generate storefronts with live code previews. According to TradersUnion (tradersunion.com), Shopify shares jumped 4.05 percent on launch day to 157.53 dollars and held above all of its short, medium and long-term moving averages .

The launch excitement landed on top of a strong quarter, not instead of one. According to Shopify (shopify.com), second-quarter gross merchandise volume reached 115.6 billion dollars while revenue grew 34 percent to 3.58 billion dollars and free cash flow margin hit 18 percent. Management calling it above-30-percent growth across every line shows the AI investment is more than a story.

TSMC and the 2-Nanometer Queue

On the hardware side, eyes were on Taiwan Semiconductor, or TSMC. According to Invezz (invezz.com), TSMC stock hit a record 2,580 Taiwan dollars, lifting the company's market value to 66.9 trillion Taiwan dollars, as Apple, Nvidia and other major customers raised 2-nanometer orders by 10 to 20 percent. First-year 2-nanometer output is expected to run 45 percent above the first year of 3-nanometer.

That demand boom cuts both ways. TSMC could reach roughly 120,000 2-nanometer wafers a month by end-2026, with five new fabs coming online this year. But new fabs and overseas investments dilute margins by 3 to 4 points. The third-quarter report on October 15 will show whether pricing power covers that cost; it is a decisive date for chip stocks .

Guardant and the Blood Test Story

Health technology belonged to Guardant Health. According to Guardant Health (guardanthealth.com), second-quarter total revenue rose 44 percent to 335 million dollars; oncology test volume grew 63 percent while the Shield blood test reached 66,000 screens. The company raised 2026 revenue guidance to between 1.34 and 1.36 billion dollars, implying 36 to 38 percent growth.

The Shield story has regulatory tailwinds behind it. The American Cancer Society added the test to its updated colorectal screening guidelines, UnitedHealth became the first major commercial insurer to cover it, and the drug regulator approved a higher-throughput, lower-cost Shield workflow. Still, a reminder is due: the company is unprofitable and screening is a small slice of revenue; in speculative growth names the gap between hope and fact can widen fast.

The Narrow-Rally Warning

The most thought-provoking number of the day concerns the record's breadth. According to Benzinga (benzinga.com), the Nasdaq 100 closed at a record 30,972 even though 55 of its 101 members trade below their 50-day average, and QQQ has outperformed its equal-weighted twin by 8 percent since late July. Average record-day participation since 2015 is 71 percent; the latest record came with the second-weakest participation on file.

The bottom line of the day is selectivity. An index record plus rate pressure plus narrow participation calls for disciplined tracking rather than euphoria. Whether Shopify's post-Canvas momentum holds, what TSMC reports on October 15, and how Guardant's screening revenue trends are the three watch items ahead. One session never makes a portfolio decision, but watchlists get built today.