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Business News›Markets›US Stocks›Wall St Guide›Dow Jones| Nasdaq | S&P 500 | US Stock Market Today | Highlights: Nasdaq leads Wall Street gains as chip, AI stocks rebound LIVE BLOG Dow Jones Highlights Synopsis US Market | Dow Jones Highlights: US stocks ended mixed on Monday, with the Nasdaq leading gains as chip and AI-linked stocks bounced back after last week’s sharp selloff. Investors remained focused on upcoming earnings, AI spending concerns and stock-specific moves including CoreWeave, Intel and Cleveland-Cliffs. US stocks ended mixed on Monday as chip and AI-linked stocks rebounded after last week’s sharp selloff, with the Nasdaq leading Wall Street gains. - Nasdaq Composite rose 1.11%, while S&P 500 gained 0.42%. - Philadelphia Semiconductor Index snapped an eight-session losing streak. - CoreWeave gained after Goldman Sachs upgraded it to Buy. - Intel rose after J.P. Morgan upgraded the stock to Neutral. Show more 1 New Update S&P 500 gained 32.48 points, or 0.42%, to end at 7,691.07 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 290.85 points, or 1.11%, to 26,430.89. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 32.21 points, or 0.06%, to 51,970.20. Hedge funds pulled back from technology stocks at their fastest pace in at least a decade last week, as the sharp selloff in global tech shares prompted investors to reduce exposure to one of the market’s most crowded trades, according to Goldman Sachs’ prime desk, Bloomberg reported. Read more Fintech firm Ramp has applied to establish Ramp National Trust Bank through the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. If approved, the charter will permit the company to manage fiduciary investments and provide custody for digital assets without taking deposits or making loans. The application comes as the regulator opens doors to tech firms, with companies like Revolut gaining conditional approvals this year. Rapidly growing Ramp was recently valued at $60 billion after reaching $2 billion in annualized revenue, signaling a major push into institutional banking. The Trump administration is creating a process to convert sanctioned oil tankers into legitimate ships. Energy Secretary Chris Wright explained that investors can buy and refurbish idled vessels from the dark fleet, provided they strictly move non-sanctioned crude going forward. Officials insist this initiative is not a wholesale removal of penalties from ships carrying Russian or Iranian oil. Instead, it aims to expand global shipping capacity by transitioning up to hundreds of dark fleet vessels into lawful commerce under strict oversight. S&P Global warned that the world’s biggest technology companies could be carrying more AI linked liabilities than are currently visible, as the scale of spending on data centres and AI infrastructure continues to grow, according to a Reuters report. Read more According to Wells Fargo equity strategists, the US corporate earnings season is off to one of its worst starts in history. Early reports show overall company profits running slightly below analyst forecasts rather than beating them as usual, dragging down stock market sentiment. Bank of America strategists Savita Subramanian and Victoria Roloff noted that while business demand and consumer credit remain steady, results are uninspiring. They warned that rising fuel costs, higher interest rates, and geopolitical tensions are making investors cautious about future growth. Walmart is raising cash by selling bonds to global investors. The company just locked in $3 billion in the US and is setting up its first debt deal in Canada to get another $2.5 billion. Big investors jumped at the opportunity, offering far more money than Walmart originally requested because the retail giant is seen as a safe bet. The new funds will help power a massive $29 billion investment next year to open new stores, upgrade online shopping, and add automation to their facilities. On top of funding this expansion, the money will cover several billion dollars in older loans coming due soon. JPMorgan analysts say investor concerns over CoreWeave's mounting debt and rapid cash burn are overdone, noting that rapid expansion rather than weak project economics is driving financing needs. The bank highlighted that long-term take-or-pay contracts help secure strong returns above capital costs. While heavy upfront spending will keep cash flows under pressure until around 2030, analysts estimate that contract cash flows provide a solid cushion to cover debt obligations. CoreWeave shares plummeted about 20% last week amid broader market anxiety over AI infrastructure borrowing costs. The Canadian dollar rose 0.3% against the greenback after touching its highest level since late September. Hawkish comments from Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem signaled a likely increase to quarterly inflation forecasts, driven by rising global oil prices and persistent energy pressures. Investors now price in an 80% chance of a BoC rate hike at its October 28 meeting, up sharply from 30% last week. Markets are also monitoring a nonbinding referendum in Alberta on provincial secession, where an emphatic vote against separation is expected to provide further support for the loonie. AI linked stocks rebounded on Monday after taking a heavy beating last week, with lower Treasury yields and softer crude oil prices offering some relief to investors, Reuters reported. The recovery was led by semiconductor stocks and data centre names, while CoreWeave jumped after Goldman Sachs upgraded the cloud computing company. Read more Amazon.com is introducing a new tool that allows its custom AI chips to run code written in the most popular AI coding language without modification, seeking to erode the advantage that underpins Nvidia's dominance in the AI computing market. Read more Brent reverses gains while WTI extends rise after Houthis claim attacks on Saudi infrastructure. Brent is last up 0.15%, while WTI gains 1.5%. London's FTSE 100 closed down on Monday, dragged by Barclays, which fell after a report said that the Bank of England was probing the lender, while weakness in miners added further pressure. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index fell 1.1% to 10,764.69 points after three consecutive sessions of gains. The midcap FTSE 250 slipped 0.6%, snapping a six-day winning streak. More than 45% of flight departures from Saudi Arabian airports have been cancelled since October 8, according to data from aviation analytics company Cirium. S&P Global estimates the world's biggest tech firms are likely to have more AI-linked liabilities than currently known, although its top analyst for the sector sees no need to change any ratings at present. Debt issued by AI infrastructure providers and so-called 'neocloud' firms such as Nvidia-backed CoreWeave has sunk to increasingly stressed levels in recent weeks amid concerns about the aggressive scale of their borrowing. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite led Wall Street's gains on Monday as investors returned to AI-related stocks following last week's bruising selloff, while declining oil prices lent additional support ahead of key corporate earnings reports. The benchmark S&P 500 and Nasdaq had posted their biggest weekly drop since late June on Friday, as concerns that higher interest rates could curb investments in AI infrastructure weighed on technology stocks, particularly data center operators. French equities suffered their worst day in nearly two weeks on Monday, weighing on European shares after rioting erupted in cities across the country over the weekend. France's blue-chip CAC 40 index fell 1.1%, while the pan-European STOXX 600 index slipped 0.9% to 639.1 points. Triggered by rising prices and worsening public services, the protests have soured investor sentiment towards a country already grappling with weak growth and rising debt. The turmoil in the euro zone's second-largest economy, which adds to political uncertainty ahead of the presidential election in 2027, has also been partly responsible for keeping the STOXX 600 index stuck within a narrow range over the past month. S&P Global estimates major hyperscalers likely carry more AI-linked debt than disclosed through complex financing structures used to build data centers. Despite recent bond market selloffs, the agency sees no immediate need to adjust credit ratings for the world's largest tech companies. Analysts project the top six US tech firms will spend over $7 trillion on AI infrastructure through 2030, keeping free cash flow negative until at least next year. S&P warned that ratings could face pressure if aggressive spending fails to generate expected revenues or if market competition intensifies. Cleveland-Cliffs shares jumped 15% after reporting its first quarterly profit in over two years, driven by stronger steel prices and lower costs. The steelmaker posted a third-quarter adjusted profit of 28 cents per share, beating Wall Street expectations of 19 cents. Supported by favorable trade policies and robust contract demand, the company raised its 2027 adjusted EBITDA forecast to over $4 billion, up from $3.3 billion. CEO Lourenco Goncalves noted that the firm is benefiting from the strongest steel pricing environment in three years. Gold prices drifted lower Monday as a firmer dollar and rising Treasury yields reduced appeal for the unyielding metal. Spot gold dropped 0.5% to $4,143.91 per ounce, while falling oil prices helped temper broader inflation concerns following last week's hot price data. Investors are now focused on next week's Federal Reserve policy meeting and key inflation data. Market pricing reflects an 83% chance that the Fed holds rates steady this month, though traders expect a hawkish tone or a potential December rate hike could keep pressure on gold. US homebuilder sentiment fell to its lowest level since 2012 as mortgage rates above 7%, high labor costs, and rising supply expenses continue to pressure the housing market. The NAHB index dropped to 29, with measures of current sales and buyer traffic sliding as prospective buyers stay on the sidelines. To attract buyers, 43% of builders reported cutting prices while two-thirds offered sales incentives, squeezing profit margins. Confidence plummeted across the South and West regions, while investors await upcoming government reports on housing starts and pending home sales for further market direction. African companies raised $13.3 billion in hard-currency bonds over the first nine months of the year, marking the fastest issuance pace in five years. Bank of America highlights improving credit quality and zero sector defaults since 2020, with issuers expanding across 11 countries. Looking ahead, BofA projects annual new supply of $8 billion to $12 billion. Tighter spreads are expected to draw repeat issuers, though high interest rates could push some refinancing toward local and loan markets. Sovereign debt stress remains a key potential risk to watch. The London Metal Exchange approved Owensboro, Kentucky, as its newest US delivery point for copper, joining major hubs like New Orleans. The location will become active three months after its first warehouse is approved, expanding storage options across the exchange's US network. The decision comes as traders direct more metal to the US ahead of potential tariffs on refined copper imports. LME warehouses in the country hold over 137,000 tons of registered copper, contributing to an overall US stockpile that analysts at Citi estimate has reached around 1.1 million tons. French markets tumbled on Monday, with bonds, Paris-listed stocks and even the euro falling after widespread protests across France underscored difficulties the government faces in reducing its large deficit. Read more U.S. Treasury yields rose slightly on Monday as easing concerns over AI stocks helped equity markets bounce back. The benchmark 10-year yield climbed to 5.106%, reversing last week's flight-to-safety trend that was triggered by hotter inflation data and tech sector selloffs. Housing market sentiment dropped to its lowest point since 2012, with the NAHB index falling to 29. Investors now look to upcoming auctions for $13 billion in 20-year bonds and TIPS, while market pricing shows just a 17.2% chance of a Federal Reserve rate hike next week. Read more Copper prices fell on Monday as rising inventories and the end of a strike at a major Chilean mine eased supply concerns. Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.1% at $14,385 a metric ton by 1016 GMT. Read more White House economist Kevin Hassett noted that September consumer price data shows inflation still needs attention, despite price drops in staples like beef and eggs. The CPI rose 0.6% last month, marking its fastest pace in five months and raising questions about whether the trend is shifting. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh offered no hints on interest rates during recent IMF remarks, maintaining focus on price stability. With strong consumer spending fueling economic growth, markets broadly expect the central bank to keep interest rates steady at its upcoming end-of-month meeting. AI-linked shares rebounded Monday following last week's sharp selloff, boosted by falling Treasury yields and lower oil prices. Neocloud provider CoreWeave surged 3.4% after a Goldman Sachs upgrade, while the Philadelphia semiconductor index gained 2.8% to end its longest losing streak since 2008. Upgrades provided key support across the sector, with J.P. Morgan lifting Intel 5.6% to neutral. Major chipmakers like Nvidia and AMD also advanced as investors look ahead to upcoming megacap tech earnings to judge whether growth projections can sustain high market valuations. CoreWeave rises following Goldman Sachs upgradeCloud provider CoreWeave gained 2.1% after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to buy, pointing to strong revenue growth potential and constrained supply. The rebound follows a sharp selloff last week triggered by a slide in the company's debt, which had raised broader concerns about the stability of the artificial intelligence rally. SpaceX rose 2.3% after Elon Musk pledged to gift a share of stock to every American child, an announcement that closely followed AI rival Anthropic PBC setting aside equity for the public benefit. Meanwhile, shares of Tesla Inc. gained 1.9% amid ongoing market speculation regarding a potential merger between the automaker and the space exploration company. Nvidia has secured AI startup Modal as a new customer for its central processors, signaling growing momentum in a market historically dominated by Intel and AMD. Modal, a rapidly scaling cloud provider that recently reached a $15.75 billion valuation, will deploy Nvidia’s new Vera central processor to run automated AI agents. Early testing showed the Vera chips doubled the productivity of these agents, prompting Modal to make the necessary software adaptations to adopt the hardware. Despite the new partnership, Modal will continue running Intel and AMD processors in a mixed fleet to ensure tasks run on the best performing hardware. While Nvidia projects $20 billion in Vera chip sales this fiscal year, Intel and AMD are developing next-generation processors that could challenge Nvidia’s performance advantages in the $200 billion central processor market. - Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson The S&P 500 and Nasdaq opened higher on Monday as AI-related stocks rebounded from last week's sharp selloff, while a decline in oil prices provided additional support ahead of key earnings reports this week. Read more - Elon Musk announced a plan to give one share of SpaceX to every child in the United States next year, valued at roughly $10.66 billion for around 73 million kids. His pledge came as a direct response to rival AI firm Anthropic committing 5% of its shares to a new public benefit fund. Musk provided few logistical details about the distribution, though he noted it would be the first of many similar initiatives. - The announcements come amid growing public skepticism toward rapidly advancing AI technology, with a recent poll showing 64% of Americans believe AI is developing too fast. Despite industry leaders calling for a slower pace of development, commercial pressure and global competition continue to drive rapid momentum. Anthropic is currently preparing for a potential IPO in November, while SpaceX made its public debut earlier this year. - US chip stocks bounced back on Monday as lower Treasury yields and falling oil prices provided relief to the beaten-down sector. The iShares Semiconductor ETF gained 3.6% premarket after last week’s nearly 12% tumble, while the Philadelphia chip index ended an eight-day slump that wiped out $2 trillion in market value. Recent fears over inflation, rate hikes, and heavy AI spending had initially triggered the selloff. - Intel led gains with a 4.2% rise following a J.P. Morgan upgrade to neutral, supported by strong demand for agentic AI and chip supply constraints. Industry peers Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom, and Micron also trended higher alongside data storage and analog chipmakers. While upcoming quarterly earnings will guide the market's next move, the Philadelphia chip index remains up 57.2% year-to-date. Brent futures fell 1.3% to around $108.5 a barrel after US President Donald Trump waived some sanctions on Russia. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the president would take up to 60 days to assess the economic impact. The US benchmark 10-year Treasury yield also declined to 5.0812%. However, oil markets remained sensitive to developments around the Strait of Hormuz after Iran reported another tanker had hit a mine. Shipping and insurance costs continued to keep prices for actual delivery higher. Investors are increasingly looking for evidence that the large sums being spent on AI infrastructure can generate stronger revenues. Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, said investors need stronger monetisation and proof that AI-generated revenues can catch up with spending on AI tools. Her comments come after last week’s selloff, when concerns over the financing and returns from the costly AI buildout weighed heavily on technology stocks. The debate has become a key test for companies driving the US bull market. Attention is now shifting to a packed corporate earnings calendar, with several major companies set to report this week. Meta is expected to beat Wall Street expectations on Wednesday, while Tesla is also due to report that day. SpaceX is scheduled to report on Tuesday. Netflix, General Motors and GE Aerospace are among other companies reporting, putting a fresh focus on corporate results and the outlook for AI-related spending. Investors will be watching whether results can reinforce confidence in the technology-led market rally. AI-linked stocks moved higher in premarket trading, led by a 3.4% rise in CoreWeave after the stock plunged more than 25% last week. Chipmakers also gained, with Broadcom up 2.9% and Micron rising 3.3%. Megacap stocks were mixed, with Nvidia and Amazon gaining more than 1%, while Apple and Meta edged lower. The moves reflected a partial recovery in technology shares after last week’s sharp losses, when concerns over the cost and financing of AI infrastructure weighed on sentiment. S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures rose on Monday as AI-related stocks recovered from last week’s sharp selloff. A decline in oil prices and Treasury yields also supported sentiment ahead of a busy earnings week. Dow futures, however, remained in negative territory. Investors are assessing whether the heavy spending on AI infrastructure can translate into stronger revenue growth as companies face growing scrutiny over the cost of the buildout. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq had posted their biggest weekly drop since late June on Friday.
Business News›Markets›US Stocks›Wall St Guide›Dow Jones| Nasdaq | S&P 500 | US Stock Market Today | Highlights: Nasdaq leads Wall Street gains as chip, AI stocks rebound LIVE BLOG Dow Jones Highlights Synopsis US Market | Dow Jones Highlights: US stocks ended mixed on Monday, with the Nasdaq leading gains as chip and AI-linked stocks bounced back after last week’s sharp selloff. Investors remained focused on upcoming earnings, AI spending concerns and stock-specific moves including CoreWeave, Intel and Cleveland-Cliffs. US stocks ended mixed on Monday as chip and AI-linked stocks rebounded after last week’s sharp selloff, with the Nasdaq leading Wall Street gains. - Nasdaq Composite rose 1.11%, while S&P 500 gained 0.42%. - Philadelphia Semiconductor Index snapped an eight-session losing streak. - CoreWeave gained after Goldman Sachs upgraded it to Buy. - Intel rose after J.P. Morgan upgraded the stock to Neutral. Show more 1 New Update S&P 500 gained 32.48 points, or 0.42%, to end at 7,691.07 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 290.85 points, or 1.11%, to 26,430.89. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 32.21 points, or 0.06%, to 51,970.20. Hedge funds pulled back from technology stocks at their fastest pace in at least a decade last week, as the sharp selloff in global tech shares prompted investors to reduce exposure to one of the market’s most crowded trades, according to Goldman Sachs’ prime desk, Bloomberg reported. Read more Fintech firm Ramp has applied to establish Ramp National Trust Bank through the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. If approved, the charter will permit the company to manage fiduciary investments and provide custody for digital assets without taking deposits or making loans. The application comes as the regulator opens doors to tech firms, with companies like Revolut gaining conditional approvals this year. Rapidly growing Ramp was recently valued at $60 billion after reaching $2 billion in annualized revenue, signaling a major push into institutional banking. The Trump administration is creating a process to convert sanctioned oil tankers into legitimate ships. Energy Secretary Chris Wright explained that investors can buy and refurbish idled vessels from the dark fleet, provided they strictly move non-sanctioned crude going forward. Officials insist this initiative is not a wholesale removal of penalties from ships carrying Russian or Iranian oil. Instead, it aims to expand global shipping capacity by transitioning up to hundreds of dark fleet vessels into lawful commerce under strict oversight. S&P Global warned that the world’s biggest technology companies could be carrying more AI linked liabilities than are currently visible, as the scale of spending on data centres and AI infrastructure continues to grow, according to a Reuters report. Read more According to Wells Fargo equity strategists, the US corporate earnings season is off to one of its worst starts in history. Early reports show overall company profits running slightly below analyst forecasts rather than beating them as usual, dragging down stock market sentiment. Bank of America strategists Savita Subramanian and Victoria Roloff noted that while business demand and consumer credit remain steady, results are uninspiring. They warned that rising fuel costs, higher interest rates, and geopolitical tensions are making investors cautious about future growth. Walmart is raising cash by selling bonds to global investors. The company just locked in $3 billion in the US and is setting up its first debt deal in Canada to get another $2.5 billion. Big investors jumped at the opportunity, offering far more money than Walmart originally requested because the retail giant is seen as a safe bet. The new funds will help power a massive $29 billion investment next year to open new stores, upgrade online shopping, and add automation to their facilities. On top of funding this expansion, the money will cover several billion dollars in older loans coming due soon. JPMorgan analysts say investor concerns over CoreWeave's mounting debt and rapid cash burn are overdone, noting that rapid expansion rather than weak project economics is driving financing needs. The bank highlighted that long-term take-or-pay contracts help secure strong returns above capital costs. While heavy upfront spending will keep cash flows under pressure until around 2030, analysts estimate that contract cash flows provide a solid cushion to cover debt obligations. CoreWeave shares plummeted about 20% last week amid broader market anxiety over AI infrastructure borrowing costs. The Canadian dollar rose 0.3% against the greenback after touching its highest level since late September. Hawkish comments from Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem signaled a likely increase to quarterly inflation forecasts, driven by rising global oil prices and persistent energy pressures. Investors now price in an 80% chance of a BoC rate hike at its October 28 meeting, up sharply from 30% last week. Markets are also monitoring a nonbinding referendum in Alberta on provincial secession, where an emphatic vote against separation is expected to provide further support for the loonie. AI linked stocks rebounded on Monday after taking a heavy beating last week, with lower Treasury yields and softer crude oil prices offering some relief to investors, Reuters reported. The recovery was led by semiconductor stocks and data centre names, while CoreWeave jumped after Goldman Sachs upgraded the cloud computing company. Read more Amazon.com is introducing a new tool that allows its custom AI chips to run code written in the most popular AI coding language without modification, seeking to erode the advantage that underpins Nvidia's dominance in the AI computing market. Read more Brent reverses gains while WTI extends rise after Houthis claim attacks on Saudi infrastructure. Brent is last up 0.15%, while WTI gains 1.5%. London's FTSE 100 closed down on Monday, dragged by Barclays, which fell after a report said that the Bank of England was probing the lender, while weakness in miners added further pressure. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index fell 1.1% to 10,764.69 points after three consecutive sessions of gains. The midcap FTSE 250 slipped 0.6%, snapping a six-day winning streak. More than 45% of flight departures from Saudi Arabian airports have been cancelled since October 8, according to data from aviation analytics company Cirium. S&P Global estimates the world's biggest tech firms are likely to have more AI-linked liabilities than currently known, although its top analyst for the sector sees no need to change any ratings at present. Debt issued by AI infrastructure providers and so-called 'neocloud' firms such as Nvidia-backed CoreWeave has sunk to increasingly stressed levels in recent weeks amid concerns about the aggressive scale of their borrowing. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite led Wall Street's gains on Monday as investors returned to AI-related stocks following last week's bruising selloff, while declining oil prices lent additional support ahead of key corporate earnings reports. The benchmark S&P 500 and Nasdaq had posted their biggest weekly drop since late June on Friday, as concerns that higher interest rates could curb investments in AI infrastructure weighed on technology stocks, particularly data center operators. French equities suffered their worst day in nearly two weeks on Monday, weighing on European shares after rioting erupted in cities across the country over the weekend. France's blue-chip CAC 40 index fell 1.1%, while the pan-European STOXX 600 index slipped 0.9% to 639.1 points. Triggered by rising prices and worsening public services, the protests have soured investor sentiment towards a country already grappling with weak growth and rising debt. The turmoil in the euro zone's second-largest economy, which adds to political uncertainty ahead of the presidential election in 2027, has also been partly responsible for keeping the STOXX 600 index stuck within a narrow range over the past month. S&P Global estimates major hyperscalers likely carry more AI-linked debt than disclosed through complex financing structures used to build data centers. Despite recent bond market selloffs, the agency sees no immediate need to adjust credit ratings for the world's largest tech companies. Analysts project the top six US tech firms will spend over $7 trillion on AI infrastructure through 2030, keeping free cash flow negative until at least next year. S&P warned that ratings could face pressure if aggressive spending fails to generate expected revenues or if market competition intensifies. Cleveland-Cliffs shares jumped 15% after reporting its first quarterly profit in over two years, driven by stronger steel prices and lower costs. The steelmaker posted a third-quarter adjusted profit of 28 cents per share, beating Wall Street expectations of 19 cents. Supported by favorable trade policies and robust contract demand, the company raised its 2027 adjusted EBITDA forecast to over $4 billion, up from $3.3 billion. CEO Lourenco Goncalves noted that the firm is benefiting from the strongest steel pricing environment in three years. Gold prices drifted lower Monday as a firmer dollar and rising Treasury yields reduced appeal for the unyielding metal. Spot gold dropped 0.5% to $4,143.91 per ounce, while falling oil prices helped temper broader inflation concerns following last week's hot price data. Investors are now focused on next week's Federal Reserve policy meeting and key inflation data. Market pricing reflects an 83% chance that the Fed holds rates steady this month, though traders expect a hawkish tone or a potential December rate hike could keep pressure on gold. US homebuilder sentiment fell to its lowest level since 2012 as mortgage rates above 7%, high labor costs, and rising supply expenses continue to pressure the housing market. The NAHB index dropped to 29, with measures of current sales and buyer traffic sliding as prospective buyers stay on the sidelines. To attract buyers, 43% of builders reported cutting prices while two-thirds offered sales incentives, squeezing profit margins. Confidence plummeted across the South and West regions, while investors await upcoming government reports on housing starts and pending home sales for further market direction. African companies raised $13.3 billion in hard-currency bonds over the first nine months of the year, marking the fastest issuance pace in five years. Bank of America highlights improving credit quality and zero sector defaults since 2020, with issuers expanding across 11 countries. Looking ahead, BofA projects annual new supply of $8 billion to $12 billion. Tighter spreads are expected to draw repeat issuers, though high interest rates could push some refinancing toward local and loan markets. Sovereign debt stress remains a key potential risk to watch. The London Metal Exchange approved Owensboro, Kentucky, as its newest US delivery point for copper, joining major hubs like New Orleans. The location will become active three months after its first warehouse is approved, expanding storage options across the exchange's US network. The decision comes as traders direct more metal to the US ahead of potential tariffs on refined copper imports. LME warehouses in the country hold over 137,000 tons of registered copper, contributing to an overall US stockpile that analysts at Citi estimate has reached around 1.1 million tons. French markets tumbled on Monday, with bonds, Paris-listed stocks and even the euro falling after widespread protests across France underscored difficulties the government faces in reducing its large deficit. Read more U.S. Treasury yields rose slightly on Monday as easing concerns over AI stocks helped equity markets bounce back. The benchmark 10-year yield climbed to 5.106%, reversing last week's flight-to-safety trend that was triggered by hotter inflation
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