Overview
- The Federal Reserve delivered a second 25 bp cut to a 3.75%-4.00% range, and Chair Jerome Powell said a December cut is far from assured, leaving the 10-year Treasury yield around 4.08%-4.10% by midday Friday.
- Amazon jumped about 11% on stronger cloud growth, helping the Nasdaq recover, while Apple dipped as weaker iPhone sales were offset by double‑digit services growth.
- Meta fell roughly 11% after results and a plan for heavier AI investment wiped out more than $200 billion in value, with Microsoft also sliding as investors took profits in megacaps.
- Nvidia surpassed $5 trillion in market value, highlighting intense AI enthusiasm even as annual industry spending nears about $100 billion and questions persist about payback timing.
- European stocks underperformed, with the CAC 40 lower on Thursday and Friday as Stellantis sank about 8.75% after flagging extra H2 2025 charges, and Novo Nordisk’s at least $6 billion offer sent Metsera up more than 20%.