On Monday, the three major indices closed mixed while oil prices climbed, following President Trump's weekend announcement that Russia and Ukraine had reached an "energy ceasefire," which Ukrainian President Zelensky subsequently said Moscow had already violated.
US Equities
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 195.60 points, or 0.38%, to 51,850.55; the S&P 500 slipped 4.30 points, or 0.06%, to 7,807.24; and the Nasdaq fell 120.26 points, or 0.44%, to 27,245.90. SK Hynix (SKHY.US) dropped over 4%, Micron Technology (MU.US) declined more than 3.8%, SanDisk (SNDK.US) tumbled nearly 6%, and NVIDIA (NVDA.US) shed over 1%, while Meta Platforms (META.US) rose more than 3%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index closed down 0.38%, with Chagee (CHA.US) gaining over 6%.
European Equities
Germany's DAX 30 rose 197.82 points, or 0.79%, to 25,285.09; the UK's FTSE 100 added 102.85 points, or 0.97%, to 10,654.90; France's CAC 40 gained 29.55 points, or 0.38%, to 7,832.88; the Euro Stoxx 50 advanced 27.98 points, or 0.45%, to 6,201.35; Spain's IBEX 35 climbed 255.47 points, or 1.34%, to 19,288.57; and Italy's FTSE MIB rose 290.19 points, or 0.58%, to 50,036.50.
Forex
The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, rose 0.37% to close at 102.590. At the New York close, the euro traded at 1.1156 per dollar, down from 1.1202 the previous session; the pound was at 1.3206, down from 1.3241. The dollar fetched 158.68 yen, up from 158.21; 0.8348 Swiss francs, up from 0.8298; 1.4286 Canadian dollars, up from 1.4266; and 10.0444 Swedish kronor, up from 9.9909.
Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin fell over 1% to $82,628 as of press time, while Ethereum dropped more than 1.4% to $2,493.
Precious Metals
Spot gold stood at $4,171.81 per ounce, and spot silver at $60.313 per ounce.
Crude Oil
November-delivery light crude futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $1.89 to settle at $93.74 per barrel, up 2.06%. December-delivery Brent crude futures on the London exchange gained $1.93 to settle at $106.65 per barrel, up 1.84%.
Macro News
Fed's Hammack: Further Policy Tightening Needed to Lower Inflation. Cleveland Fed President Hammack said the Fed needs to bring monetary policy to a restrictive level to push inflation back to its 2% target. She noted that the current policy stance means inflation may take longer than acceptable to decline, thus "more tightening is needed." Hammack said future rate hikes may still be necessary, though the timing remains uncertain, and she prefers "small, more frequent" adjustments to help businesses and households plan ahead. She noted that corporate input costs are rising, with more firms passing costs on to consumers, and that if prices are no longer constrained by demand, inflation could rise further or remain elevated. She pointed out that the biggest inflation risk is individuals and businesses developing an "inflation mindset," gradually accepting higher inflation levels, which would make it harder for the Fed to bring inflation back to target, and some signs of this have already appeared. Regarding rising US Treasury yields, Hammack said they are mainly driven by growth expectations, market repricing of Fed policy, fiscal pressures, and heavy bond issuance. She said the data center investment boom is fueling growth, but financial conditions still need further tightening to help bring inflation down. Hammack also stressed that Fed independence is "always crucial."
Fed Rate Hike Expectations Hit Mortgage-Backed Securities Market; Bank Demand May Weaken Further. Over the past three weeks, investors have pulled out of US mortgage-backed bond funds at a historically rare pace, with outflows ranking among the seven worst since early 2021. As rates surged, investors sought to avoid market volatility risk. The US mortgage-backed securities index posted its second-worst monthly performance on record in September. Earlier, US Treasury yields climbed to multi-decade highs driven by surging oil prices, intensifying inflation concerns, and market expectations of Fed rate hikes, triggering a selloff in mortgage bonds. MBS are highly sensitive to sudden swings in bond yields, as yields serve as the pricing benchmark for borrowing costs across the economy. When rates rise, homeowners typically stop refinancing their mortgages, leaving investors holding lower-yielding securities longer than previously expected. Strategist Erica Adelberg wrote: "Fed monetary tightening and a flattening yield curve may erode demand from banks, a key MBS buyer. On the positive side, as mortgage rates rise to the highest since 2023, curbing refinancing and home purchase demand and potentially slowing growth in home prices and loan volumes, MBS supply is expected to trend lower by year-end."
Kazakhstan Central Bank Plans to Reduce Gold Holdings, Cutting Gold Reserve Share by About 3%. According to media reports, Kazakhstan's central bank is shifting from one of the world's largest gold buyers to a seller, as finance ministry officials step up efforts to rebalance reserve assets. In recent years, aggressive central bank gold purchases drove prices sharply higher, but the rally has hit resistance after gold prices pulled back from record highs. The US 10-year Treasury yield climbed last week to its highest level in 24 years. Kazakhstan Central Bank Deputy Governor Aliya Moldabekova said in an interview: "We haven't seen such levels for a long time. This makes the dollar an attractive option, reducing gold's appeal as an investment asset." She added that the central bank wants to lower gold's share of total foreign exchange reserves by about 3 percentage points. For years, central banks steadily increased gold holdings. But the assumption that monetary institutions' gold demand would remain robust was challenged after the Iran war broke out earlier this year. The war triggered a global surge in demand for dollars to pay for more expensive energy imports. According to World Gold Council data, Turkey and Russia were among the countries that reduced gold holdings earlier this year.
Individual Stock News
Meta (META.US) Releases Muse Wonder Model; Zuckerberg Says Company Has Reached AI Frontier. Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Meta has caught up to the AI "frontier" and will continue spending heavily on AI technology, rejecting calls to slow AI development. Zuckerberg said Meta's newly released Muse Wonder model will achieve "more sophisticated capabilities," reaching the current frontier of AI. Meta said Muse Wonder outperforms Anthropic's Claude Opus 5.5, Fable 5.1, and OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra on some technical benchmarks, and can handle complex tasks including understanding leases and analyzing financial or health information. The model will be offered primarily to enterprise customers, with Meta aiming to compete with OpenAI and Anthropic in the enterprise AI market. Zuckerberg said reaching this stage requires massive computing investment, infrastructure buildout, and top AI talent. On AI safety concerns, Zuckerberg said he prefers to view AI as a technology that can be managed through normal safety mechanisms, rather than a system that could spiral out of control on its own. He opposes a broad industry slowdown in AI development, arguing the focus should be on each lab ensuring its own model safety. Zuckerberg also said Meta will continue pursuing "personal superintelligence," differing from OpenAI's and Anthropic's path toward artificial general intelligence (AGI). Meta aims to build AI assistants that enhance individual capabilities, rather than systems mainly used to automate knowledge work.
Google (GOOG.US, GOOGL.US) Launches New Fitbit Edge Smart Band Priced at $180. Google unveiled an upgraded premium smart fitness band with a display, blending features of a smartwatch with a low-profile, portable wearable supporting continuous health monitoring. Google on Monday launched the Fitbit Edge at $180, featuring a 1.34-inch oval display that resembles a smartwatch but is designed specifically for fitness tracking. The device uses a replaceable battery for the first time in a Fitbit product, lasting up to a week on a single charge, with five minutes of charging providing a day of battery life. Other new features include automatic exercise recognition, an altimeter, proactive health monitoring, and health management functions such as tracking changes in insulin resistance. Although the Health Coach in the Google app is powered by the Gemini AI model, the Fitbit Edge lacks a speaker and microphone, so it cannot support direct voice interaction through the device, clearly differentiating it from the more expensive Pixel Watch 5.
Tesla (TSLA.US) Robotaxi Alleged Speeding in School Zones Triggers US Regulatory Review. Tesla is facing scrutiny from US auto safety regulators over allegations that its robotaxis sped near schools, adding a new obstacle to the company's slowly developing Robotaxi business. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it is evaluating allegations that Tesla Cybercab and Model Y vehicles exceeded speed limits in school zones while using autonomous driving systems. According to documents the agency released Monday, the review stems from a recently submitted petition that includes videos of multiple incidents as evidence.
Analyst Ratings
UBS Group: Cut Western Digital (WDC.US) price target from $525 to $470. Morgan Stanley: Raised eBay (EBAY.US) price target from $127 to $132. Deutsche Bank: Raised Microsoft (MSFT.US) price target from $550 to $600.
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