Daily News
Nasdaq Falls 1.25% as OpenAI Revenue Setback Rattles AI Trade; Gold Rises Above $4,150 for a Second Session; Crude Slips Below $91 as Trump Rules Out Iran Strikes Before Midterms
09 October 2026
Today in Brief
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 losing over 1% and the Topix down 0.2%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.37%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.7% and mainland China’s CSI 300 slipped 0.48%. On Wall Street, the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.25% to 27,193.34 and the S&P 500 declined 0.47% to 7,765.36 as OpenAI’s annualized revenue came in short of the amount previously signalled, while the Dow added 51.77 points to end at 51,231.64; Oracle dropped more than 5%, with Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices down nearly 3% and almost 4%, respectively. Gold rose above $4,150 an ounce for a second consecutive session as falling oil prices and bond yields eased pressure on non-yielding metals, while crude oil fell below $91 per barrel after President Trump said the U.S. was engaged in “productive discussions” with Iran.
In other news: President Trump said the U.S. will not attack Iran before the Nov. 3 midterm election while keeping the naval blockade in place; Yemen’s Houthis stepped up strikes on Riyadh as the Saudi-Houthi war escalated; Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi vowed to keep watching the yen and inflation carefully; Fed Governor Christopher Waller said more rate hikes will likely be needed but there is “flexibility” about the pace; the U.S. Department of Labor suspended Microsoft and Adobe from its Permanent Labor Certification program; Amazon unveiled pricier Alexa tablets and is dropping its budget Fire lineup; and SpaceX agreed to buy a nationwide spectrum portfolio, hitting shares of AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile.
In Asia on Friday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost over 1%, while the Topix was down 0.2%
In Asia on Friday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost over 1%, while the Topix was down 0.2%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.37%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up 0.7%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 was 0.48% lower. Shares of SpaceX rose 2% in extended trading after the rocket company announced a deal to buy a nationwide spectrum portfolio. Shares of AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile slid as investors wondered worried the agreement could drive up competition.
Nasdaq falls 1% as AI trade stumbles following OpenAI revenue setback
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 1.25% to close at 27,193.34, while the S&P 500 declined 0.47% to 7,765.36. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 51.77 points, or 0.1%, to end at 51,231.64. Shares of key tech names came under pressure after OpenAI’s annualized revenue was revealed to be short of the amount previously signalled. Shares of Oracle were down more than 5%, while chipmakers such as Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices lost nearly 3% and almost 4%, respectively.
Gold rose above $4,150 an ounce on Friday, gaining for a second consecutive session
Gold rose above $4,150 an ounce on Friday, gaining for a second consecutive session as falling oil prices and bond yields eased pressure on non-yielding metals. Oil prices declined after President Donald Trump said the US was engaged in “productive discussions” with Iran and would refrain from attacking the country before the midterm elections. His remarks came even as Iran intensified attacks on tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz this week, while a hurricane disrupted offshore oil production in the Gulf of Mexico. Meanwhile, US Treasury yields retreated from 24-year highs following strong demand at a 30-year bond auction, indicating that investors remained willing to buy long-dated government debt despite the recent selloff. On the monetary policy front, markets are pricing in roughly an 82% chance that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged this month, while the probability of a rate hike in December stands at around 81%.
Crude oil fell below $91 per barrel on Friday, trimming gains from the previous session
Crude oil fell below $91 per barrel on Friday, trimming gains from the previous session after President Donald Trump said on social media that the US was engaged in “productive discussions” with Iran and would refrain from attacking the country before the midterm elections. Trump also claimed that record volumes of crude were passing through the Strait of Hormuz, while stressing that the US naval blockade of Iranian ports would remain fully in place. However, later reports indicated that the US had prepared plans for three days of strikes against Iran, targeting drone and missile stockpiles, energy infrastructure and other sites. On Thursday, oil prices surged by as much as 5.6% as Tehran intensified attacks on tankers navigating the Strait of Hormuz, with nine vessels reportedly targeted over the past week.
Trump says U.S. will not attack Iran before midterm election
President Donald Trump said Thursday that the U.S. will not attack Iran before the Nov. 3 midterm election, explicitly tying the timing of potential further military action to the domestic political calendar. “We will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the Midterm Elections,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social, adding that the U.S. was having “productive discussions” with Tehran. Trump’s declaration came after he told reporters late Wednesday that his administration was considering renewed strikes against Tehran before the election, helping send oil prices higher amid fears of further escalation. Brent crude rose more than 4% Thursday to above $104 a barrel. Trump said the U.S. naval blockade of Iran would remain in place and reiterated that Tehran would not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.
Booms and flight disruptions in Riyadh as Saudi-Houthi war escalates
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have stepped up their deadly campaign of strikes on Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh, where booms were heard on Thursday, flights disrupted, and some office staff told to work from home. The Houthis said they had fired a ballistic missile at Riyadh airport and repeated a threat to force Saudi airspace to close after the kingdom gave support to the forces of Yemen’s internationally recognised government in a reignited civil war. The conflict, now an overspill of the US-Iran war, has added new chaos to a region already aflame, and threatens to draw other states into gruelling mountain fighting – with Syria now considering deploying troops to assist Saudi Arabia.
Japan PM vows to keep watching yen, inflation moves carefully
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Friday the government will continue to scrutinise exchangerate and price developments carefully, and respond appropriately. Takaichi made the remark in parliament in response to a question from an opposition lawmaker on Japan’s economic policy and the potential fallout from a weak yen She also said the administration will guide fiscal policy looking at various factors that affect the economy, including interest rates and yen moves The remarks follow those by Takaichi in parliament on Thursday that Japan’s economy no longer needed reflationary policies because it was not experiencing deflation Takaichi also told parliament on Thursday the government is fully respecting the Bank of Japan’s independence in setting monetary policy, suggesting it would not push back against further interest-rate hikes
Fed’s Waller: More hikes needed, but there is ’flexibility’ about the pace
US Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said on Thursday that additional rate hikes will likely be needed to lower inflation to the Fed’s 2% target, but added there was “flexibility” about the pace of increases and left the door open for a pause at the Fed’s upcoming October meeting. “If the economic data continue to come in as expected, I anticipate additional hikes to support a timelier return of inflation to our 2% goal,” Waller said in remarks prepared for delivery at a Central Bank of Turkey forum in Istanbul. “But there is some flexibility about when those hikes will occur. The hikes do not need to come at consecutive meetings, but they should be in place in an acceptable period of time.”
U.S. suspends Microsoft, Adobe from green card labor program in foreign worker crackdown
The U.S. Department of Labor announced it would suspend Microsoft and Adobe from its Permanent Labor Certification program on Thursday, Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said, as the Trump administration continues to take aim at immigration and foreign hiring programs ahead of November’s midterm elections. Sonderling said the Labor Department won’t accept or process any new applications under the program for a host of companies, including Cognizant, Infosys, Capgemini, Tata, Wipro and HCL.The secretary said Adobe and Microsoft were also suspended “due to multiple active federal investigations.” “Since 2009, just these companies alone have requested almost 3 million foreign workers. They’ve received over 230,000 H-1B visas approvals and over 100,000 permanent labor certifications.
Nvidia, Oracle, CoreWeave and other AI stocks sink on OpenAI revenue report
Shares of Nvidia, Oracle, CoreWeave and other artificial intelligence names sank lower on Thursday after the market learned more details about OpenAI’s revenue. OpenAI told investors that it hit roughly $50 billion in annualized revenue at the end of September, CNBC confirmed, lower than the the $68 billion figure that was widely reported late last month. A person familiar with the matter said the $68 billion figure included gross revenue from OpenAI’s partners, which helps investors make a more direct comparison with its chief rival, Anthropic. The Financial Times was first to report the $50 billion figure. OpenAI shared an update about its finances in an investor presentation, said the person, who asked not to be named in order to discuss the numbers.
Amazon overhauls aging devices lineup with higher-priced Alexa tablet, dumping the budget Fire
Amazon on Thursday debuted a set of new, pricier Alexa tablets and said it’s ditching its budget-friendly Fire lineup, marking a significant shift in the e-commerce juggernaut’s devices strategy. The company unveiled 8-inch, 11-inch and 12-inch models, which start at $230 and run up to $550. All devices are available for preorder on Thursday and will begin shipping Oct. 14. Amazon has historically sold its devices at or near the cost of manufacturing them, partly to undercut competitors with extremely cheap prices, but also with the goal of promoting its other products and services. It’s hoped that for every $80 Echo smart speaker it sells, users will purchase movies, audiobook subscriptions or items from its sprawling webstore, which tend to have higher margins.
SpaceX deal to acquire spectrum license hammers shares of AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile
SpaceX announced an agreement on Thursday to purchase a nationwide spectrum portfolio as it pushes its Starlink service deeper into the U.S. telecommunications market. Shares of AT&T, Verizon and TMobile tumbled in extended trading. The deal involves the acquisition of a spectrum portfolio from Grain Management, which specializes in digital infrastructure, and is subject to approval by the Federal Communications Commission. SpaceX said in a statement that it’s a “license portfolio of up to 14 megahertz of paired spectrum in the 800 MHz band.” “This prime low-band spectrum addresses one of the key remaining technical gaps that will pave the way for Starlink Mobile to become a major mobile carrier in the US,” SpaceX said.