The Fed finally pulled the trigger on Wednesday when Kevin Warsh's committee raised rates a quarter point to a 3.75% to 4% target range, the first hike in years, while most officials still pencil in another move later this year. Big tech did not melt as one block. Apple (AAPL) closed near $332, up about 5.4% on the week and still the clean Magnificent 7 year-to-date leader near +23%, while Meta Platforms (META) added about 3% near $673 and remains roughly +18% over the past month on the Muse hangover. Alphabet (GOOGL) finished near $343, up about 3.7% on the week, and held better than the pure AI-hardware names into the rate decision.
The other side of the board took the bruise as Nvidia (NVDA) slipped about 4.4% near $214 after a rough stretch of AI safety talk and rate nerves, Amazon (AMZN) fell about 2.6% near $246, and Tesla (TSLA) dropped about 2.7% near $358 after NHTSA escalated from a quiet audit into a sworn Special Order on how Cybercab got certified without a steering wheel or pedals. Microsoft (MSFT) basically sat still near $490. Here is the full scoreboard through the September 16 regular close.
The Scoreboard
Prices and moves as of the September 16 regular close.
Stock | YTD | Past Month | Key Catalyst This Week |
|---|---|---|---|
AAPL | +22.7% | +8.8% | Best Mag 7 week; lukewarm Pro preorders |
NVDA | +13.3% | -4.9% | Worst Mag 7 week; AI safety rotation |
GOOGL | +8.8% | -0.3% | Held up through Fed night |
AMZN | +8.6% | -5.9% | Soft week; rates and capex nerves |
MSFT | +3.7% | +2.1% | Flat through Fed; dividend lift noted |
META | +3.5% | +18.3% | Muse follow-through; Street targets up |
TSLA | -18.3% | +5.5% | NHTSA Special Order on Cybercab |
Apple Won the Week. The Phone Story Got Messier.
Apple had the best Mag 7 week on the board, up about 5.4% to roughly $332, and it is still the YTD champ near +23%. The stock acted like a relative safe house on Fed night while pure AI hardware names got sold, and I like that kind of leadership when rates climb because it says buyers still want cash-flow hardware with a real customer base, not only the next training cluster story.
The product tape is less clean. GF Securities analyst Jeff Pu called early iPhone 18 Pro preorders lukewarm and pointed at limited feature upgrades and higher prices, with the Pro starting at $1,199 and the Pro Max at $1,299. JPMorgan's Samik Chatterjee said delivery lead times in the U.S., China, Germany, and the U.K. are tracking softer than the iPhone 17 series in week one, and he thinks some buyers are waiting for the $1,999 iPhone Duo foldable that opens for preorder on October 16. Friday is when the Pro models go on sale for real, and one week of preorder chatter is not a full holiday quarter, but it is still the first public crack in the Ternus-era hardware cycle after last week's Duo unveil.
If the foldable steals Pro demand, Apple can still win the form-factor fight and lose the easy upgrade math, and that is the tension I care about more than one Fed session. The stock is priced like the franchise still works, while the preorder noise says customers might need a better reason than another camera and another price hike.
"Apple can lead the Mag 7 board and still have a phone cycle that needs the foldable to do real work."
Tesla's Hard Questions. Meta's Second Week.
Tesla (TSLA) closed near $358, down about 2.7% on the week and still about 18% red year to date, even after paid Cybercab rides started in Austin earlier this month. This week NHTSA escalated and issued a Special Order demanding sworn answers by September 30 to 21 detailed questions on how Tesla self-certified a vehicle with no steering wheel, no pedals, and no conventional mirrors under standards written for human drivers. Failure to answer fully can carry civil penalties that stack into nine figures on paper, and Zoox already had to take an exemption path after a similar self-certification fight. A green month near +5.5% does not erase a federal affidavit deadline on whether the cab is even legal to sell under current rules.
Meta (META) finished near $673, up about 3% on the week and still about +18% over the past month after last week's Muse launch, with the personal AI agent still climbing the consumer charts story. JPMorgan upgraded the stock to Overweight and lifted its target toward $820 on agent monetization, while Goldman kept a Buy near a $725 target and framed Muse as a shift from chat to task execution with free, $20, and $100 tiers. Early App Store ranks and usage claims are loud, but retention and paid conversion are still the only proof that matters after one strong product week.
Nvidia (NVDA) closed near $214, down about 4.4% on the week, the worst Mag 7 name on this scoreboard. The Hugging Face deal is still the open-model platform story from last week, with close expected in the first half of 2027 if regulators clear it, but this week the tape cared more about higher rates, AI safety chatter, and a rotation away from pure chip beta. Nvidia is still about +13% year to date, and one soft week does not end the hardware franchise, though it does remind you the multiple still flinches when money gets more expensive.
The Rest of the Board
Alphabet (GOOGL) rose about 3.7% near $343 and is about +9% year to date after holding better than the pure AI-hardware names through the Fed session. Capex nerves and free-cash-flow debates are still in the room, so a green Fed week is useful without being a full reset of the spending argument.
Microsoft (MSFT) finished near $490, basically flat on the week near -0.3%, after the company raised its quarterly dividend to 98 cents a share. Azure still has to prove the giant AI build earns its keep while rates climb, and a flat Mag 7 week is not a crisis even if it is also not leadership.
Amazon (AMZN) slipped about 2.6% near $246 and is still roughly +9% year to date after higher yields and another round of AI-capex second-guessing hit the name again. The month is still about 6% red, and quiet red weeks stack up when the market wants proof the spend turns into cash faster than the bond market can punish it.
Bottom Line
What separated this Mag 7 week was the Fed hike and who could live with it. Apple led on the tape even as iPhone 18 Pro preorder chatter turned lukewarm and the Duo wait story got louder, while Meta kept second-week Muse heat and Street targets moved higher. Tesla got the hard regulatory questions on Cybercab, Nvidia took the AI-rotation bruise, and Microsoft, Alphabet, and Amazon mostly lived inside the rate and capex argument.
Watch Pro sell-through into the holiday setup, Muse paid conversion after the novelty fades, and Tesla's September 30 sworn answers, because the Mag 7 nickname is still lazy and these are seven different stocks again.
Apple won the Fed week on price. The phone cycle still has to prove the customers showed up for more than a chart bounce.
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