Good morning and welcome to October. It's the eighth best month of the year on average for the stock market, according to Dow Jones Market Data, or the fifth worst, if you are more of a glass-half-empty type of investor.
And we are off to an upbeat start at least in terms of Nasdaq 100 futures, which are in the green as tech stocks gamble on the Fed holding rates steady after yesterday's cooler-than-expected inflation data for August.
Strong earnings from memory chip maker Micron are also helping sentiment-the stand out figure for me is its gross margin of 87%-compare that with the likes of old school manufacturers like Ford which hovers around 8%.
For those hooked on a little bit of gloom to kick off the morning, the 10-year Treasury yield reached its highest level since 2002 on a cocktail of macro concerns. It's enough to give anyone a fright.
Have a great day.
P.S. Feel free to get in touch with any thoughts and comments.
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📈 Here's what's happening in markets today:
Tech stocks are climbing to kick off October despite rising yields.
Micron, Paramount, Nike, and more stocks that explain today's market.
Why Micron's 87% gross margin is a problem.
These two things can help Nvidia stock reach a fresh milestone.
Anthropic and Broadcom are becoming more intertwined.
Accenture brushes off AI disruption fears to post strong earnings.
Tesla Roadster event is delayed, but this matters far more for the stock.
Foghorn to slash 40% of jobs as Lilly cancer partnership falls apart.
Occidental stock gets an upgrade. 4 reasons Goldman loves it.
Hopes aren't high for Nike's earnings. Short interest is.
📟 Micron's booming results put it in uncharted territory
Micron Technology reported surging fourth-quarter earnings because of the artificial-intelligence boom, but the company is in uncharted territory. Pushed by demand for memory and storage chips for AI data centers, sales growth and profit margins are at all-time highs, but Wall Street is still skeptical about the durability of this moment.
📈 Inflation reading does little to alter the broader narrative
With headline and core inflation still around 3% or higher, the latest inflation reading did little to alter the broader narrative. The Fed will likely need to implement more rate increases to bring inflation all the way back down to its 2% target, but officials may be able to take a more gradual approach, says Gus Faucher, PNC's chief economist.
?? Northeasterners brace for chilly, expensive winter
Inflation is squeezing households nationwide, but Northeasterners are facing a particularly chilling forecast. Heating oil prices are at record highs, and the cold and snow are still a ways off. This winter's average heating oil bill will be 50% more than last winter, says Mark Wolfe of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association. Read about it here.
🏡 One in five home sellers have cut their asking price
More than one in five home sellers cut their house's asking price in September, according to a new report from Realtor.com. That's the greatest share of price drops in nearly four years and the most in any September since 2018. Higher mortgage rates have kicked a housing market that was already down, recent data suggest.
?? Constellation working with Amazon on nuclear project
Constellation Energy struck a deal with Amazon to provide the tech giant with power from a Maryland nuclear plant, the Calvert Cliffs Clean Energy Center, for 20 years. Amazon will also help finance a project to expand the nuclear plant's capacity by about 190 megawatts, or enough for nearly 200,000 homes. Read more about it here.
?? The Delta Air Lines-SpaceX feud is escalating
A spat between SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian is heating up. Bastian opted to use Amazon's space-based broadband product for its flights instead of SpaceX's Starlink, and will switch from T-Mobile to Amazon in 2028. Now Musk is chafing at recent Bastian comments. Read about it here.
🏗? Watchdog says Fed's renovations were merely mismanaged
The Federal Reserve's inspector general concluded that renovations of the central bank's Washington, D.C., headquarters weren't well-managed, but there was no evidence of criminal misconduct. The still incomplete work has been scrutinized by the Trump administration
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🏞? These companies could benefit from South Korea's deal
A natural gas pipeline in Alaska and eight large-scale nuclear reactors could be built as part of a $200 billion deal between the U.S. and South Korea. The package could boost American companies like ConocoPhillips, Baker Hughes, and others. Read more here.
💬 Quote of the day:
Other headlines moving markets:
Paramount bonds yield 9% ahead of massive bond sale.
Google unveils new AI model Gemini 4 Argon.
Stocks just finished a wild quarter. Why the final months matter more.
Progress Software's quarterly revenue falls short.
Micron earnings could be the catalyst this ETF needs.
Boeing won a major Navy contract, but don't lose sight of the 737 MAX.
SpaceX just got a little closer to a Tesla merger.
The 10-year Treasury note just had its ugliest quarter in decades.
The SEC moves to expand access to private market.
Why Citi downgraded Moderna's stock.
The FTC reportedly opened an investigation into OpenAI, Anthropic.
Here are some favorite niche ETFs of investment pros.
For Jabil stock, blistering AI demand isn't enough.
Bill Ackman's funds are lagging but his firm trades at 100 times earnings.
Siri held Apple back for years. Now it's set to power Apple's future.
Bank stocks are beaten down. The case for buying now.
A big crypto tax loophole could close soon. You might have to pay hundreds more.
Argentina's economy stumbles. Its bonds are still attractive.
This Fidelity manager likes Coca-Cola, Keurig Dr Pepper, and other consumer staples bargains.
Better without bonds? How retirees should think about fixed income right now.
-Edited by Liz Moyer and Stacy Ozol