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US stocks inched up slightly on Thursday as investors paused to assess the optimism around AI and interest-rate cuts that has buoyed markets amid the government shutdown.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose around 0.1% after another record close for the broad benchmark on Wednesday as Wall Street returned to rally mode. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) also ticked more than 0.1% higher, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) traded just below the flatline.
Meanwhile, the torrid rally in gold (GC=F) took a pause amid signs of profit-taking.
The mood is muted as the ongoing federal shutdown puts paid to scheduled data releases, including the jobless claims update due Thursday. That has put the focus more firmly on coming earnings, watched for insight into the economy’s health and to test high-running hopes for an AI boom.
PepsiCo (PEP) eked out quarterly profit and revenue beats, ushering in the third-quarter earnings season, which kicks off in earnest with big bank reports next week. Delta Air Lines (DAL) results are also on Thursday’s docket.
Investors will also listen out for what Chair Jerome Powell has to say at the Federal Reserve’s bank conference later, after minutes from its the Fed’s September policy meeting out Wednesday boosted spirits. The minutes confirmed that most officials agree that at least two more rate cuts are likely this year.
LIVE 16 updates
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Nvidia stock hits all-time high
Nvidia (NVDA) stock hit an all-time intraday high of $195.30 on Thursday in morning trading. Shares rose nearly 3%, extending a gain from the prior trading session.
The rise in Nvidia stock comes as Cantor Fitzgerald analyst C.J. Muse raised his price target on shares to a Street high and the US approved exports of Nvidia’s chips to the United Arab Emirates.
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Airline stocks take off after Delta reports improving fundamentals
Airline stocks popped after Delta Air Lines (DAL) reported strong earnings, raising optimism around improving fundamentals in the sector through the end of the year.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian told Yahoo Finance that the airline is back on track after geopolitical events and tariffs shook consumer confidence. “Personally, for businesses, I think confidence has been restored,” he said.
Delta stock led the gains on Thursday morning, with a gain of nearly 7%. Shares of the other major carriers rose in sympathy:
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UiPath stock leaps higher at the open
Shares of UiPath (PATH) rose another 9% just after the opening bell on Thursday after climbing 5% on Wednesday. The stock is up 33% over the past five days.
UiPath develops robotic automation software, and the company recently announced its move into agentic AI automation in partnership with OpenAI (OPAI.PVT) and Nvidia (NVDA), which are seen as the two major leaders in artificial intelligence.
UiPath has been just one of several stocks that have been propelled higher by OpenAI’s dealmaking. Stocks from Figma (FIG) to Expedia (EXPE) have seen a lift in prices after receiving shoutouts from OpenAI, as optimism around AI continues to fuel markets — and bubble concerns.
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Stocks edge up at the open
US stocks were broadly steady at the open on Thursday.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) inched up more than 0.1% after another record close for the index on Wednesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) added nearly 0.2%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) traded flat.
The muted open comes as the US enters its ninth day of a government shutdown, putting on pause the release of key federal data that would factor into the Federal Reserve’s path to interest rate cuts. Investors are also eyeing sentiment around the AI trade, weighing bullish sentiment among many on Wall Street against concerns over a bubble.
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Costco stock rises on monthly sales gain
Costco (COST) stock rose 1.5% in Thursday’s premarket session after the wholesaler reported an increase in sales in September and early October.
Sales increased 8% to $26.58 billion in the five weeks ending Oct. 5, the company said. US comparable sales rose 5.1%, Canada sales increased 6.3%, and other international sales grew 8.5%.
Digitally-enabled sales, which were previously called e-commerce comparable sales, rose 26.1%. Costco updated the metric to include all sales initiated through a digital device.
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JPMorgan CEO Dimon: US stocks face 30% chance of correction
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has warned that US stocks face a bigger risk of a sharp drop than widely expected, as investors debate the odds of an AI bubble.
Asked whether he sees a crash or correction coming, Dimon told the BBC: “I am far more worried about that than others.”
“I would give it a higher probability than I think is probably priced in the market and by others,” he said in an interview broadcast on Thursday. “So if the markets price in 10%, I would price in — I would say it’s more like 30%.”
Dimon said the timing was “impossible to figure out” but could come in as soon as six months or as long as two years.
He pointed to the level of uncertainty in markets, with geopolitics, fiscal spending, and the remilitarization of the world among the key factors. “All these things cause a lot of issues that we don’t know … the answer to,” he said.
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Tesla falls as NHTSA probes vehicles over violating traffic laws
Tesla (TSLA) stock fell 2% before the bell on Thursday following news that US auto safety regulators have opened a probe into Tesla over incidents involving its vehicles running red lights and violating other traffic laws while using the system Full Self-Driving.
Bloomberg News reports:
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Nvidia stock rises as Cantor ups price target to a Street high, US allows UAE sales
Nvidia (NVDA) stock climbed nearly 2% early Thursday morning amid a nod from Wall Street and positive industry signals.
Cantor analyst C.J. Muse raised his price target on Nvidia to $300 a share from $240 — a new call high on Wall Street — citing what he sees as growing AI demand.
“We are still in the early innings of a multi-trillion AI Infrastructure build-out with just the Hyperscalers providing significant line-of-sight into hundreds of billions of demand for the next handful of years,” he wrote.
Muse’s view highlights the bull side of the AI bubble debate, which sees Big Tech as justifiably rushing to build data centers to meet unprecedented AI demand.
“Thus, this is not a bubble, and we are still in the early innings of this investment cycle,” Muse wrote.
Meanwhile, bears question whether demand is as strong as those companies say and point to concerns over circularity in the AI market.
In other Nvidia news, the US granted approval for exports of billions of dollars’ worth of the AI giant’s chips to the United Arab Emirates, Bloomberg reported. The move follows the announcement of a large AI infrastructure project called Stargate UAE during President Trump’s visit to the country earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Nvidia’s contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM) posted third quarter revenue that topped expectations.
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Big banks are walking a political tightrope in Trump’s Washington
The country’s largest banks are navigating a delicate balancing act in President Trump’s Washington, reports Yahoo Finance’s David Hollerith.
He writes:
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Good morning. Here’s what’s happening today.
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PepsiCo’s Q3 earnings top Wall Street expectations
PepsiCo (PEP) beat Wall Street projections on both the top and bottom line in its third-quarter results before the bell on Thursday, but its US snacking business continues to see turbulence.
The drinks and convenience foods giant’s stock nudged up slightly in premarket after the report.
Yahoo Finance’s Brooke DiPalma reports:
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Delta posts strong Q3 earnings with CEO upbeat on revenue outlook
Delta Air Lines (DAL) posted strong third quarter results before the bell, citing a pickup in business that is expected to flow on through the end of the year.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian told Yahoo Finance that the airline is on track for its best fourth quarter ever as premium and business travelers drive gains.
Shares in Delta climbed over 5% in premarket after the results release.
Yahoo Finance’s Pras Subramanian reports:
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Premarket trending tickers: MP Materials, Freeport and Wolfspeed
Here’s a look at some of the top stocks trending in premarket trading:
MP Materials (MP) stock rose almost 5% before the bell on Thursday after analysts at BMO reinstated coverage of the rare earths company. It also followed news that China has introduced new curbs on its rare earth exports. MP Materials recently announced a substantial government investment and a multi-year magnet supply agreement with Apple (AAPL).
Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX) shares rose 3% in premarket trading following a positive call from Wall Street. Citi analysts upgraded the shares to Buy from Hold and maintained their price target at $48 a share. “Citi expects copper to rally to $12,000/ton in [first-half 2026],” wrote Hacking.
Wolfspeed (WOLF) shares rose 10% in premarket trading on Thursday. The chipmaker recently exited Chapter 11 protection last month.
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TSMC revenue beats Q3 forecasts, surging 30% amid AI boom
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM, 2330.TW) posted a 30% rise in third-quarter revenue on Thursday, topping Wall Street estimates.
The jump in sales at TSMC came as Big Tech companies continue to pile into multibillion-dollar bets on AI. The world’s biggest contract chipmaker is the go-to partner for AI accelerator designers such as Nvidia (NVDA) and AMD (AMD), as well as a partner to Apple (AAPL).
Reuters reports:
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US approves Some Nvidia UAE sales in Trump AI diplomacy step
Nvidia (NVDA) stock rose 1% before the bell on Thursday following the news that the has approved billions of dollars of Nvidia chip exports to the United Arab Emirates. The licences mark the first permits for Nvidia AI chip sales to the Gulf nation since President Trump took office.
Bloomberg News reports:
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Gold pulls back after record-setting run to $4,000 an ounce
Gold (GC=F) pulled back after hitting the record mark of $4,000, doubling in value over two years, leading to a number of investors pulling gains out of the asset. The pullback showed that the precious metal is no longer being traded solely as a haven asset.
Bloomberg reports:
