On Tuesday, the three major indices closed mixed, with the Nasdaq setting an intraday record high. Oil prices fell during the session after reports suggested Iran could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the United States takes steps to ease military tensions.
In equities, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 185.03 points, or 0.36%, to close at 51,863.80. The S&P 500 edged up 0.14 points, or 0.00%, to 7,764.84, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 122.18 points, or 0.45%, to 27,244.28. Among individual movers, Micron Technology rose 5%, SK Hynix climbed over 3%, SanDisk jumped 6.8%, and Cisco fell more than 4%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index added 0.32%, with Alibaba up 0.45%.
European markets showed a mixed performance. Germany's DAX30 gained 14.08 points, or 0.06%, to 25,587.74. The UK's FTSE 100 slipped 29.86 points, or 0.28%, to 10,709.15. France's CAC40 rose 15.97 points, or 0.20%, to 8,154.91. The Euro Stoxx 50 added 6.85 points, or 0.11%, to 6,325.05. Spain's IBEX35 increased 27.94 points, or 0.14%, to 19,752.34, while Italy's FTSE MIB declined 270.04 points, or 0.52%, to 52,101.50.
Asian equities saw Japan's Nikkei 225 advance 1.38%, South Korea's KOSPI gain 0.15%, and India's BSE Sensex fall 0.44%.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, increased 0.17% to settle at 100.603. At the close of New York currency trading, the euro traded at 1.1442 dollars, down from 1.1465 the prior session, and the pound was at 1.3335 dollars, lower than 1.3369 previously. The dollar bought 157.50 yen, up from 157.45, and changed hands at 0.8212 Swiss francs, down from 0.8213. The greenback also rose to 1.4068 Canadian dollars from 1.4039, and to 9.8487 Swedish kronor from 9.8398.
In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin hovered near 86,000 dollars, last trading at 86,130, while Ethereum fell over 1.2% to 2,744 dollars.
Crude oil futures declined. West Texas Intermediate for October delivery dropped 1.19 dollars to settle at 94.59 dollars per barrel, a 1.24% decrease. Brent crude for November delivery fell 1.09 dollars to close at 99.25 dollars per barrel, down 1.09%.
Precious metals saw spot gold at 4,358.6 dollars per ounce, with spot silver at 67.21 dollars per ounce.
In macro news, a New York Fed official said the monetary policy toolbox is functioning effectively, with Treasury purchases dependent on market needs. Perli, manager of the System Open Market Account at the New York Fed, noted that the Fed's monetary policy control toolkit remains highly effective. "We have maintained very strong interest rate control, kept reserves in an ample range, and our Treasury purchases have run smoothly," Perli stated. He added that recent Fed actions to inject liquidity into the financial system, currently paused, are not on a preset path, implying the Fed could resume Treasury purchases if market liquidity needs to be boosted. He also indicated that so-called reserve management purchases of Treasury bills would be adjusted based on market liquidity demand.
Anthropic launched a more affordable Opus 5.5 model ahead of its anticipated IPO. The company introduced the Claude Opus 5.5 model on Tuesday, claiming it performs comparably to its more powerful Fable 5.1 in most work scenarios but at a significantly lower usage cost than the previous Opus 5 version. Anthropic stated the new model also generates outputs faster than Opus 5 and produces clearer content. The AI developer plans to expand its 5.5 series in the coming weeks with new versions of Claude Sonnet and Haiku.
Fed Governor Barkin warned that inflation pressures will take time to subside. He noted that the Fed's rate hike last week helps slow inflation but did not explicitly signal whether further tightening is needed. Instead, Barkin emphasized that supply shocks are no longer occasional or temporary but represent persistent price pressures affecting the entire economy. "These conditions may fade over time, but I expect this will still take some time," Barkin said. "In the meantime, the current elevated inflation level could influence future inflation." He added, "What do we do next? We are committed to sustainably reducing inflation to the 2% target. Last week's hike will help with that. Whether further hikes are needed, and how many, remains to be seen." Barkin also outlined two inflation scenarios: one where recent shocks gradually fade and prices cool quickly, and another where pressures persist. "I am open to the possibility that inflation could come down soon. Some recent shocks may reverse," he said, adding that consumers may reach their limits, investment growth could slow, and employment might fluctuate. "On the other hand, inflation could prove harder to contain. Temporary shocks could persist. New cost pressures may emerge. Stronger demand could pass through to prices, as could the impact of today's inflation."
OpenAI will allow external organizations to assess AI models at earlier stages. The company announced in a blog post on Tuesday that it will permit third parties to conduct technical safety evaluations of new AI models during training, evaluation, and rollout. OpenAI also outlined priorities for ensuring such reviews operate effectively, including "strong independence mechanisms, scientific rigor, robust safety measures, and clear accountability." Lama Ahmad, who oversees safety reviews with external experts, said OpenAI previously invited such groups to assess models before deployment. "As risks increase, we need to focus not only on deployment but also on high-risk phases like training and evaluation," Ahmad noted.
In individual stock news, Microsoft will continue to consider shareholder proposals through its next annual meeting, responding to activist Paul Chess's request to protect investor rights amid the SEC's proposed tightening of shareholder proposal rules. Microsoft will maintain the current threshold for investor resolutions even as the SEC considers changes that critics say would marginalize individual investors, religious groups, and unions. The agreement lasts one year but could effectively offset SEC efforts to shift power from investors to executives. Chess hopes Microsoft's approach becomes a governance model ensuring retail investors have a voice. A Microsoft spokesperson said that given the SEC's review of the shareholder proposal framework, the company agreed to maintain the current eligibility threshold for one year, providing a clear and predictable process for the next proxy cycle.
Meta is testing a "human concierge" feature for its new personal AI assistant Muse. According to internal posts, Meta is piloting a mode where human customer service agents quietly handle some calls placed through the digital assistant. The company introduced the test to employees last week, shortly after publicly launching Muse's calling feature. Some employees raised privacy concerns about human agents handling calls, warning that sensitive information could be inadvertently disclosed to call-center contractors. When asked about the feature, a Meta spokesperson said employee feedback has been "overwhelmingly positive," and the test aims to "collect user input to refine safety and privacy protections and improve related features before official launch." The spokesperson added, "We are working with merchants to continue improving this potential calling feature and will only roll it out when it is ready with appropriate disclosures."
Apple is developing a new fitness tracker designed to compete with Whoop. Sources familiar with the matter say Apple is working on a screenless health and fitness tracker similar to Whoop's wristband device, part of its efforts to revamp its smartwatch lineup and introduce new wearable technology. The company has explored this area for months and started developing prototypes. The project has support from senior management, but Apple has not decided whether to launch the product. It remains in early stages, internally referred to as a "technology investigation." If Apple proceeds, the device likely wouldn't hit the market before 2028.
Grok Bot, the AI agent from SpaceXAI, surpassed 400,000 weekly users in its first month. About a month after launch, Grok Bot's weekly active users exceeded 400,000, showing modest initial market demand. On-site presentation materials show that as of September 14, Grok Bot had 418,000 users, up 24% from the prior week. SpaceXAI launched Grok Bot in mid-August to address growing competition in the AI agent space and catch up with Anthropic and OpenAI. Grok Bot is designed to act more like an around-the-clock employee than a chatbot, handling emails, updating sales databases, processing invoices, arranging workflows, or submitting software bug reports.
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