Shares of technology companies rallied after surprisingly strong earnings from SpaceX quelled fears about the sustainability of the artificial-intelligence boom.
SpaceX shares rose by more than 5% after Chief Executive Elon Musk said committees had been formed to explore a merger with the other company he controls, Tesla. The rocketry company also posted earnings from AI infrastructure investments that were higher than analysts had anticipated. While SpaceX prepares its own AI models, the company is selling computing power to rivals such as Anthropic and Google.
The company's AI exploits gave a lift to Intel, Micron and other companies who have tied their fortunes to the AI boom. The sector had abruptly fallen out of favor during the worst week for the Nasdaq since June. Last week saw the biggest ever selling by Bank of America Securities clients of technology stocks on a dollar basis and the 15th biggest ever week for tech-stock selling adjusted for market cap, according to a weekly brokerage report.
Meta Platforms rose ahead of its earnings report, even after a New Mexico judge ordered the Facebook and Instagram owner to pay the state $25 billion following a finding that it misled users about data privacy. Meta added to gains in late trading after posting robust earnings growth and saying it would establish a new class of shares to fund its AI infrastructure spending.
Alphabet shares fell after reports that U.S. Senators launched an inquiry into Google's expansion of AI technology in schools.
Shares of Australian data-center developer NextDC sank more than 40%. NextDC cut its annual earnings forecast and warned it may sell some of its development sites after a power distributor stopped work on one site due to community opposition and safety concerns.
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