Market Highlights

Wall Street traders sent stocks lower after a series of all-time highs spurred calls for a breather amid signs of buyer exhaustion. Bonds rose as a $58 billion Treasury sale drew solid demand. The ebullience driven by artificial intelligence gave way to concerns about the rally being excessive after a $16 trillion surge in the S&P 500 from its April lows. Tech giants dragged down the index amid a report that Oracle Corp.’s cloud margins are lower than many estimate. Tesla Inc. sank over 4% after introducing new versions of its top-selling models priced at under $40,000. Stocks paused after a record rally as investors grow cautious about lofty valuations and the billions pouring into artificial intelligence, while gold topped $4,000 an ounce amid concerns over the US economy and a government shutdown.

A rally in chipmakers sent stocks to all-time highs as Advanced Micro Devices Inc.’s deal with OpenAI added fuel to the artificial-intelligence frenzy that has powered Wall Street. Bonds fell. The dollar rose. With the bull market on track for its three-year anniversary, momentum shows few signs of abating. The S&P 500 climbed for a seventh straight session - the longest advance since May. AMD soared 24%. While giant Nvidia Corp. slid, a key gauge of semiconductors jumped about 3%. Tesla Inc. led gains in megacaps as a series of social-media posts teased the unveiling of a product. The dollar gained and global equities held near record highs as the election of a pro-stimulus leader in Japan added momentum to gains in Asia.

Debt investors have been so badly bruised by a recent string of fractious restructurings in Europe that they’ve started actively avoiding the continent’s riskiest credits. In a year that’s been defined by almost insatiable demand for corporate bonds, European debt rated triple C — one of the lowest ratings categories that usually offers big rewards to compensate for investment risk — has returned next to nothing. That compares with more than 4% for other ratings groups, Bloomberg index data shows. It’s even worse in the loans world, where total returns for triple-C borrowers are down 1.8%, compared to 4% for better rated single B borrowers so far in 2025, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence.

US equities’ race to fresh highs resumed in late afternoon trading after the bullish momentum in technology stocks was tested by President Donald Trump’s plan to slash “thousands” of federal jobs as a government shutdown extended into a second day. The S&P 500 rose 0.1%, erasing a 0.3% drop. The Nasdaq 100 also took a leg higher, climbing to a second-consecutive all-time high after an OpenAI share sale. The deal catapulted the firmto the world’s most valuable startup with a valuation of $500 billion, bolstering optimism for artificial intelligence. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumped 2% led by Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Intel Corp.

US stocks ended Wednesday’s session higher, notching a new record and seemingly shrugging off the firstgovernment shutdown in nearly seven years. Treasuries rallied after private payrolls data reinforced bets that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates later this month. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 rose for a fourth consecutive session. On Wednesday, the former was boosted by the health-care sector on optimism stemming from Pfizer Inc.’s deal with the White House. Tech names like Tesla Inc. and Nvidia Corp. also helped push the index 0.3% higher for the day. The 10-year Treasury yield touched 4.08% before hovering around 4.10%. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index held steady. Gold reached a fresh all-time high

US equities notched a second straight quarter of gains even as stock moves were tepid for most of Tuesday’s session as the US government nears a shutdown. The S&P 500 ended the day 0.4% higher after oscillating between small gains and losses for hours. The index had its best September in 15 years, fueled by optimism over artificial intelligence and lower rates. Treasuries gained for the third consecutive quarter. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed for the month. Oil slipped in a choppy day of trading as OPEC+ considers boosting the pace of future output hikes.

Stocks posted modest gains on Monday as concerns mounted about a looming US government shutdown possibly delaying the release of key labor-market data that could provide clues about how fast the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates. Treasury yields fell across the curve. The S&P 500 ended the session 0.3% higher. The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.4% after climbing nearly 1% earlier. The Bloomberg dollar index pared earlier losses after pending home sales for August jumped to the highest level in fivemonths. The US Treasury 10-year yield declined to 4.14% — shutdowns are typically associated with gains for bonds because of their potential to restrain the economy. Gold, a safe-haven asset, hit a record

Technology firmswith vast funding needs to pay for their AI ambitions are striking blockbuster debt deals at the fastest pace in years, taking advantage of near—insatiable investor appetite to lock in financingfor initiatives whose ultimate payoff remains uncertain. Borrowers are tapping all corners of credit and findingready buyers. In the US public bond markets alone, tech companies have raised about $157 billion so far this year, up some 70% from what they issued in the same period last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Oracle has led the way, with nearly $26 billion of publicly traded debt sold, much of it in a blockbuster offerring on Wednesday as it gears up to spend billions to rent data centers and fill them up with Nvidia Corp. chips for artificial intelligence customers like OpenAI.

Wall Street’s torrid surge from April’s meltdown is showing signs of exhaustion as stock traders await fresh catalysts amid risks stemming from a labor-market slowdown to sticky inflation. While the S&P 500 has defied September’s gloomy reputation as the worst month for equity returns, the gauge failed to gain traction on Wednesday. The market ebullience saw the index notching almost 30 records in 2025, eclipsing the average year-end analyst forecast and spurring calls for consolidation. US equity-index futures steadied after signs of fatigue in the AI-driven rally caused two days of declines on Wall Street

Wall Street traders drove stocks down from all-time highs, with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell offering no hints on whether he might support a rate cut at the central bank’s October meeting. Bonds held gains. Following a series of records, equities took a breather amid a slide in big tech. Powell said the outlooks for the labor market and inflation face risks, reiterating his view that policymakers likely have a difficult road ahead as they weigh further interest-rate cuts. US stocks are set to resume their rally as the combination of a pledge for more spending by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and an upbeat forecast from Micron Technology Inc. reinforced optimism over artificial intelligence.