Overview

• Major U.S. indexes retreated after Jerome Powell said equities are "fairly highly valued," with the S&P 500 down 0.6%, the Nasdaq nearly 1%, and the Dow 0.2%.
• Tech led the decline as Nvidia fell about 2.8%, reversing part of its recent gains tied to AI deal headlines.
• Powell framed last week’s rate cut to 4.00%–4.25% as risk management and offered no timeline for further easing.
• Futures turned steadier and traders still price about a 95% chance of another cut in October, even as European shares opened softer.
• Asian markets rebounded, led by Alibaba after it unveiled its 1-trillion-parameter Qwen3-Max model, sending its Hong Kong shares up roughly 5% to 9%.