Nasdaq 100 Gains on AI Wagers Before Tech Earnings: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — A rally in technology companies lifted stocks ahead of results from industry giants valued at more than $10 trillion, with traders also bracing for the Federal Reserve rate decision.
Investor enthusiasm around artificial intelligence returned, with a gauge of chipmakers rising 3.3%. The Nasdaq 100 added 1.3%. Meta Platforms Inc.’s $25 billion stock sale ended five times oversubscribed. Oracle Corp. is expanding a partnership with OpenAI. United Parcel Service Inc. climbed on a solid outlook. Boeing Co. sank after cutting its delivery target.
In a volatile session, Brent oil fell to $114 as traders weighed moves to de-escalate tensions in the Persian Gulf. Bonds barely budged. The dollar edged up.
Three of the world’s biggest companies — Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. — are expected to show healthy growth when they report earnings this week. But for Wall Street, what really matters is: How much money they’re spending on AI and when it will start to pay off in a meaningful way.
Not all big techs should be treated equally regarding potential growth, according to Chris Brigati at SWBC.
“The period of a rising market lifting all stocks has started to shift,” he said. “Future expectations are more focused upon execution risk and how much future success is already embedded in the current stock price.”
Meantime, the Fed and its peers in the euro zone and Japan will likely keep rates steady this week, opting to bide their time before potential further hikes.
Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, who’s eschewed guidance on future moves, will face a tricky test at his post-meeting press conference Wednesday. He probably won’t offer much insight about December, but may also not want to sway market bets away from the current expectation for a hike.
All in all, economic data suggest there’s no good reason to delay policy tightening, according to Jerry Tempelman at Mutual of America Capital Management. But by having signaled it intends to wait until the December meeting, the Fed has now more or less “boxed itself in,” he added. That means it would surprise markets if it were to lift rates in October.
“We think an increase at the end of the year is likely, with one further rate hike anticipated for 2027, as the central bank looks to combat inflation and lean against any acceleration in growth,” said James McCann at Edward Jones.
Corporate Highlights:
Broadcom Inc. has arranged a $63 billion deal with Bank of America Corp., Blackstone Inc., Citigroup Inc. and Morgan Stanley to finance the purchase of chips for AI model developer Anthropic PBC. Oracle Corp. will offer cloud services based on Cerebras Systems Inc.’s computers in its data centers, adding another large customer for the fledgling challenger to Nvidia Corp.’s dominance of AI hardware. Coca-Cola Co. raised its 2026 full-year outlook on strong international demand for soda, but notched lower-than-expected sales volume in North America. PayPal Holdings Inc. raised its full-year earnings guidance amid promising growth in key business units, even as revenue missed analysts’ estimates. JetBlue Airways Corp. reassured Wall Street that it’ll be profitable next year, as the debt-laden carrier seeks to overcome persistent losses and high oil prices to prevent a deeper restructuring. What Bloomberg Strategists say…
“US equities are moving past fears of higher borrowing costs as earnings results prove the strength of the profit cycle remains underappreciated.”
—Tatiana Darie, Macro Strategist, Markets Live. For the full analysis, click here.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 rose 0.5% as of 1:08 p.m. New York time The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.3% The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.5% The MSCI World Index rose 0.5% Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2% The euro fell 0.3% to $1.1140 The British pound fell 0.2% to $1.3317 The Japanese yen fell 0.2% to 157.87 per dollar Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin rose 1% to $80,569.18 Ether rose 2% to $2,349.65 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.99% Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 3.36% Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 5.35% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.7% to $100.06 a barrel Spot gold rose 1.1% to $4,061.04 an ounce ©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
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