Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City.
Jeenah Moon | Reuters
The Nasdaq Composite slid on Thursday as new details about OpenAI spooked investors, putting the artificial intelligence trade under pressure.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq was down 1.4%, while the S&P 500 declined 0.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded around the flatline.
Shares of key tech names came under pressure after OpenAI's annualized revenue was revealed to be about $20 billion short of the amount previously signaled. Shares of Oracle were down more than 5%, while chipmakers such as Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices lost 2% and 3%, respectively.
Adding to the downbeat sentiment, oil prices spiked also after President Donald Trump said he doesn't want to make a deal with Iran to end the war, while the U.S. is reportedly preparing for "massive bombing" in the Middle East. However, he later said that the U.S. won't attack Iran before the midterm elections early next month, moving oil off its highs. Brent crude was last seen up 4% to around $104 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate futures, meanwhile, advanced 4% to around $91.
Traders also watched the moves in Treasury yields after the 10-year yield and 30-year yield scaled to fresh 24-year highs this week. The benchmark 10-year yield was last down more than 3 basis points at 5.244%, while the 30-year yield was down 4 basis points at 5.621%. Those moves came after a solid 30-year auction by the Treasury.
"At the end of the day, I think it's inflation pressures, primarily driven by energy, that have shifted the Fed's disposition and have in a lot of ways shifted the long end of the curve as well," said Ross Mayfield, Baird investment strategist. "If we announced a deal with Iran tomorrow that was structurally sound and removed a lot of the tensions from the area, and oil dropped from $90 a barrel to $70 a barrel, yields would come down meaningfully."
Yields and oil have stoked volatility in equities of late, as concern grows that higher energy prices will keep inflation elevated and force the Federal Reserve to further raise rates.
While Mayfield said equities have been "pretty resilient" overall in the face of these pressures, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq notching fresh all-time highs this week, he still doesn't think it would "take much of a move higher" on the long end of the yield curve to spell "more significant headwinds" for stocks. He believes yields could stabilize in the 5% to 6% range.
"We are in the process of the market adjusting to these new yields," he added. "In a lot of ways, higher yields are reflective of stronger nominal growth and slightly higher inflation, and if that's the case going forward, then again, it makes the argument that this kind of higher-for-longer or normal-for-longer rate environment is probably here to stay, barring a big recession where the Fed cuts rates to zero."
Palantir Technologies was one of the few stocks trading higher on Thursday, with shares gaining 2% after the name received an upgrade at Goldman Sachs. The firm called for more upside ahead as the total addressable market could be "setting up for another step function change" as a result of the shift to sovereign AI and bespoke applications.
30-year auction a curve-steepening signal, says Wells Fargo
The 30-year Treasury auction on Thursday was not as strong as Wednesday's 10-year sale, putting yield at their highest level in decades, said Tony Miano, global investment strategy analyst at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.
Thursday's auction stopped at a high yield of 5.618%, up 31 basis points from the 5.308% result at the September auction, he noted.
Both the 10-year and 30-year sales show demand isn't broken, but it is concentrated at the front and belly of the curve, Miano said.
"The long end is where investors are demanding the most compensation, consistent with a term-premium/duration-risk story rather than an outright 'no buyers' story," he added. "Net takeaway: today's 30-year result is a curve-steepening signal — long-duration paper absorbing the brunt of the repricing."
— Michelle Fox
1 Hour Ago
St. Louis Fed President Musalem sees more 'policy firming' ahead
Alberto Musalem, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, speaks to the Economic Club of New York, in New York City, U.S., Feb. 20, 2025.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
St. Louis Federal Reserve President Alberto Musalem joined the chorus of central bank officials who expect higher benchmark interest rates to stop energy price-induced inflation from causing wider economic damage.
"At this point in time, it's important to contain any further broadening of inflation pressures or any second-round effects, which could be coming from the negative supply shocks or the persistent demand pressures," the central banker said Thursday at a Bloomberg News conference. "To bring inflation back to target in a timely manner, more monetary policy firming will be required."
Like his colleagues, Musalem did not specify the degree of potential hikes, though he envisions a time frame of about 18 months during which he expects the bank to act to bring inflation back to the Fed's 2% target.
Musalem does not get a vote on the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee until 2028, though he still provides input at meetings.
— Jeff Cox
2 Hours Ago
Bitcoin miners tumble on bitcoin weakness and AI pivot concerns
2 Hours Ago
Oil prices are off highs of the day after Trump says U.S. will not attack Iran before midterms
US President Donald Trump speaks during an event at Sparrows Point Shipyard, in Baltimore County, Maryland, US, Oct. 6, 2026.
Eric Lee | Reuters
WTI vs. Brent, 1-day
— Sean Conlon and Luke Fountain
4 Hours Ago
Neocloud Nebius is undergoing 'hypergrowth,' says Rosenblatt
In an aerial view, a billboard advertising an artificial intelligence (AI) company is posted on Sept. 16, 2025 in San Francisco, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
Rosenblatt started covering cloud provider Nebius on Wednesday, setting a price target of $304 for the stock along with a buy rating. Shares closed Wednesday at $237.15.
The investment bank sees the company's revenues increasing along with its computing volumes, which are expected to rise to between 4.25 and 4.75 gigawatts of active power by 2030.
"Nebius is indeed is experiencing hypergrowth, with 2Q26 revenues up 5.5x Y/Y and 2026 total revenues expected to grow 6.5x--we forecast a revenue CAGR of 98% from FY2026 through FY2030," John McPeake at Rosenblatt on Wednesday.
— Tobias Burns
5 Hours Ago
Starbucks has considered acquiring Chipotle, report says
The logo of the fast-food chain Chipotle is displayed in front of its first location in northeastern Mexico on its opening day, in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Mexico, July 16, 2026.
Daniel Becerril | Reuters
Coffee franchise Starbucks has looked into buying restaurant chain Chipotle in a potential deal that would be the biggest restaurant acquisition of all time, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.
Chipotle's market capitalization is $39 billion, which would make a takeover more than triple the size of Burger King's $11.4bn purchase of Canadian fast food chain Tim Hortons in 2014, the paper reported.
Starbucks and Chipotle declined to comment for the story, according to the FT.
— Tobias Burns
5 Hours Ago
PepsiCo shares rise after earnings and revenue beat
A Pepsi vending machine is seen in Ohio, United States, on August 8, 2026.
Marcin Golba | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Shares of PepsiCo rose 2% in morning trading on Thursday after the company's third-quarter earnings and revenue topped analysts' expectations.
The company posted adjusted earnings of $2.34 per share on revenue of $25.27 billion, while analysts surveyed by LSEG had penciled in $2.29 in earnings per share and $24.96 billion in revenue.
PEP, 1-day
With Thursday's move, the stock is heading for a winning week, as it's risen 0.3% in the period. It's down 12% on the year, however.
— Sean Conlon
6 Hours Ago
Stocks open lower
The three major averages fell on Thursday morning.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 181 points, or 0.4%, shortly after the opening bell. The S&P 500 shed 0.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.5%.
— Sean Conlon
7 Hours Ago
Jobless claims nudge lower
Jobseekers wait in line outside the Jobs NYC Center in New York, US, on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026.
Kena Betancur | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Initial unemployment claims edged lower last week, continuing the trend of a low layoff environment, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
First-time filings for jobless benefits totaled a seasonally adjusted 197,000 for the week ended Oct. 3, down 2,000 from the prior period and just below the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 200,000.
Continuing claims, which run a week behind, rose by 17,000 to 1.72 million.
— Jeff Cox
7 Hours Ago
Goldman boosts price target for Palantir on efficiency gains, more government contracts
A view of the Palantir building is seen during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026 in Davos Switzerland 2026/01/20 d
Laurent Hou | Afp | Getty Images
Goldman Sachs upgraded military software and analytics firm Palantir on Thursday to a buy rating from neutral.
The investment bank raised its price target on the stock to $230, implying 18.5% upside. Shares closed Wednesday at price of $194.12.
Goldman sees more government contracts, more automated workers and a more vertical supply chain in the company's future.
"The [total addressable market] may be setting up for another step function change in depth, because of the shift to sovereign AI, bespoke applications, and Palantir's newer verticalization strategy," Goldman analyst Gabriela Borges wrote in a Thursday note.
"The [forward deployed engineer] model is more than simply hiring FDEs; it requires tight feedback loops between field and product, which Palantir has perfected to the point of being able to automate via AI FDEs," she added.
— Tobias Burns
7 Hours Ago
Fed Governor waller sees 'additional hikes' ahead
Christopher Waller, governor of the US Federal Reserve, during the Federal Reserve's Payments Innovation Conference in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025.
Aaron Schwartz | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said Thursday that he expects the central bank will have to raise benchmark interest rates, though he isn't sure of a timetable or the degree to which it will need to happen.
"If the economic data continue to come in as expected, I anticipate additional hikes to support a timelier return of inflation to our 2 percent goal. But there is some flexibility about when those hikes will occur," Waller said during a speech in Turkey. "The hikes do not need to come at consecutive meetings, but they should be in place in an acceptable period of time."
In addition to his remarks on rates, the policymaker offered a defense of forward guidance, saying it can serve as an effective "signaling" tool for the Fed's expectations on where it should set rates.
— Jeff Cox
7 Hours Ago
Haemonetics, Wolfspeed and Broadcom among the stocks making moves before the bell
Jonathan Raa | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Check out the companies making the biggest moves premarket:
- Haemonetics — The blood and plasma provider popped 8% after CSL expects to complete the rollout of Haemonetics' plasmapheresis platform across the U.S. by the end of 2027.
- Wolfspeed — Shares surged more than 15% after the chipmaker secured a conditional $1.5 billion loan, marking a 30-year financing commitment from the Defense Department. The money will support domestic production, with the Pentagon receiving warrants for up to 7.5% of the company under the proposed terms.
- Broadcom — The chipmaker traded nearly 2% lower in the premarket. The company is working to arrange more than $50 billion in financing tied to the custom AI chips it is developing with OpenAI, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Read the full list here.
— Deena Zaidi
8 Hours Ago
UBS says stay invested in stocks despite turbulence
"Markets may have to climb a renewed wall of worry to set fresh records, but waiting for these concerns to fade could mean missing further gains. We believe investors should focus less on finding a perfect entry point and more on maintaining exposure while managing concentration and timing risks through a disciplined portfolio approach," Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi, CIO of the Americas at UBS, said in a note.
— Fred Imbert
10 Hours Ago
Treasury yields rise as Fed’s Waller says more hikes needed, investors await 30-year auction
Christopher Waller, governor of the US Federal Reserve, speaks during the C. Peter McColough Series on International Economics at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, US, on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
U.S. Treasury yields climbed higher on Thursday ahead of a closely watched long-dated bond auction later.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was 4 basis points higher at 5.322%, after reaching its highest level since 2002 on Wednesday before retreating later in the day. The 30-year Treasury bond yield rose over 4 basis points to 5.705%, after trading just below a 24-year high in the previous session. The 2-year Treasury note yield was nearly 3 basis points up to 4.793%.
One basis point is equal to 0.01%, and yields and prices move in opposite directions.
11 Hours Ago
Asia-Pacific markets fall as oil gains on Mideast worries
Asia markets closed lower Thursday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 ending 1.42% lower at 69,042.11, and the broader Topix dropping 1.51% to 4,091.46.
South Korea's Kospi fell 2.62% to 6,625.93, while the small- and mid-cap Kosdaq lost 0.69% to 892.27.
Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.77% to 8,660.90.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down 1.43% in its last hour of trade, while mainland China's CSI 300 closed 1.09% lower at 4,310.28
— Justina Lee
12 Hours Ago
French central bank chief Moulin says inflation is '100%' energy
A man walks past the Euro currency sign ('Euro Sculpture' by German artist Ottmar Hoerl) in front of the former European Central Bank (ECB) building in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany, on June 9, 2026.
Kirill Kudryavtsev | Afp | Getty Images
The Governor of the Bank of France Emmanuel Moulin said Thursday that European inflation is "100%" driven by energy, adding that the geopolitical shock is now feeding into a financial shock.
As yields on French government debt surged to multiyear highs amid broader concerns over fiscal pressures in several European countries, the European Central Bank board member highlighted a "strong correlation" between oil, long-term U.S. interest rates and rates in Europe.
However, Moulin added that he does not envisage second-round effects.
Meanwhile, fellow ECB board member and president of the Dutch central bank Olaf Sleijpen said medium- to long-term inflation expectations remain "well anchored."
— Hugh Leask
13 Hours Ago
European stock markets down ahead of Thursday’s open
A member of staff poses next to trading boards at the London Stock Exchange on April 25, 2025 in London, England.
Carl Court | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Stoxx 50 futures were down 0.35% ahead of Thursday's trading session, with Europe's major bourses in mixed territory prior to the market open.
The French CAC 40 was seen 0.06% lower, and Germany's DAX was down 0.27%, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was off by 0.14%
The Italian FTSE MIB was also in negative territory, down 0.56%.
— Hugh Leask
12 Hours Ago
European stocks slide into the red
European stock markets started Thursday's session lower, with regional sectors and major bourses seen moving into negative territory in early trade.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was 1.07% lower shortly after 8:00 a.m. in London (3:00 a.m. E.T.).
In London, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down 0.81%, while the French CAC 40 fell 0.85% in Paris. Elsewhere, Germany's DAX dropped 1.08% in Frankfurt. The Italian FTSE MIB was 1.53% lower in Milan.
The continent's oil and gas names were the sole bright spot, advancing 0.32%, as all other sectors turned red. Basic resources led losses, sliding 2.02%, with European banks down 1.82% and healthcare stocks falling 1.45%
— Hugh Leask
15 Hours Ago
HSBC shares fall nearly 4% as lender reportedly plans large-scale job cuts in U.K wealth business
HSBC's Hong Kong-listed shares fell 3.9% Thursday, following a report that the lender is planning job cuts in its U.K. wealth management business
The sweeping job cuts will include sharp reduction in specialist staff and financial advisors, as part of the bank's effort to expand AI integration, according to the Financial Times.
HSBC is in a "consultation period" over the proposed changes, the FT reported, adding that the affected employees are likely to exit the bank at the end of the month.
— Justina Lee
17 Hours Ago
Oil gains as Middle East hostilities stoke supply worries
Oil rose Thursday as Middle East worries keep markets on edge, with the U.S. reportedly considering large-scale U.S. military operations in Iran in the coming weeks.
Futures for international benchmark Brent crude for December delivery gained 1.36% at $101.54 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for November advanced 1.04% at $89.32 per barrel.
President Donald Trump and his national security team have talked about possibly restarting large-scale U.S. military operations in Iran in the coming weeks, NBC News reported, citing sources. That also includes the option of strikes prior to next month's midterm elections.
Meanwhile, tensions in the Middle East have been rising with Iran-backed Houthis recently targeting airports in Saudi Arabia, while Tehran has also been attacking tankers in the Hormuz Strait.
— Justina Lee
19 Hours Ago
Japan's Nikkei 225, South Korea's Kospi fall as Asia markets open in the red
Asian stocks fell on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 0.4% while the broader Topix declined 0.8%.
South Korea's Kospi was down 0.35% and the small-cap Kosdaq lost 0.9%.
20 Hours Ago
Asia markets poised to drop as hawkish Fed minutes signal more tightening ahead
Asian stocks were poised to open lower Thursday, tracking losses on Wall Street as U.S. Treasury yields remain elevated and Federal Reserve minutes signaled another interest rate hike could be on the horizon.
Japan's Nikkei 225 was set to fall at open, with its Chicago and Osaka futures contracts last at 69,965 and 69,790 respectively, compared with the index's previous close of 70,035.71.
Futures for Hong Kong'sHang Seng index stood at 23,962 lower than its last close of 24,130.5.
Minutes from the Fed's latest meeting, released Wednesday, showed most policymakers believed another interest rate increase would likely be appropriate before the end of the year, as inflation remained stubbornly above the central bank's 2% target.
The minutes, however, offered no indication of when the next hike might come, with officials emphasizing that future decisions would depend on incoming economic data.
— Lee Ying Shan
20 Hours Ago
The Federal Reserve could still leave rates unchanged for the remainder of the year, strategist says
Although the Federal Reserve's latest meeting minutes signal another interest rate hike by the end of the year, there's still a chance the central bank won't raise at all, Ameriprise's Anthony Saglimbene told CNBC.
"Higher interest rates may be doing some of the Fed's work, where they don't necessarily need to raise interest rates," the chief market strategist said. "That might allow them to kind of just staying pat for the rest of the year."
However, he added, "There's a lot of ifs in that statement, and I think it comes down to where interest rates settle out here over the next few weeks, because the market is already concerned that that's going to start slowing growth."
— Sean Conlon
21 Hours Ago
Levi Strauss shares dip after earnings
The Levi's logo is displayed on the exterior of a Levi's store on Oct. 7, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
Levi Strauss shares dipped 2% in extended trading Wednesday night, after the denim retailer lowered its net revenue growth guidance for the full year — though it also increased its profit outlook.
The company lowered its net revenue growth guidance for the full year to 7%, the bottom of its previously provided range of a 7% to 7.5% increase.
It also raised its adjusted earnings per share expectation for the full fiscal year to between $1.54 and $1.56, from a previous range of $1.46 to $1.52. Analysts polled by LSEG were expecting a range of between $1.52 and $1.59.
Levi Strauss, 1-day
— Sarah Min and Laya Neelakandan
21 Hours Ago
Stock futures open little changed
Stock futures opened little changed Wednesday night.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 8 points, or 0.02%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were both marginally higher.
— Sarah Min
