US Stocks Surge as Nasdaq Rises Over 2% to Highest Since June; Tech and Chip Stocks Lead Gains, Meta Jumps 11%

TradingKey - As macro factors waned following the Federal Reserve's rate hike, the AI narrative in U.S. stocks continued, and rebound momentum gathered further strength. Meanwhile, retreats in U.S. Treasury yields and crude oil prices both helped boost market trading sentiment, sending U.S. stocks surging. Tech stocks led the market, with chip stocks among the top gainers.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.71% to 52,048.83; the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 2.26% to 27,122.09; and the S&P 500 Index climbed 1.49% to 7,764.70.

Tech Stock Performance

Meta (META) rose 11.43% to $741.245.

Meta's Muse AI agent has recently gone viral, topping the free iPhone app download charts in the U.S. just a week after its official launch last week. Compared with relying solely on subscription fees, Morgan Stanley believes that Muse's truly noteworthy monetization opportunity may stem from user behavior and transactions themselves. While Muse can currently charge users via a subscription model, the bank expects Meta may eventually collect commissions on transactions facilitated by Muse.

Among large-cap tech stocks, Meta Platforms (META) rose 11.43%, Tesla (TSLA) gained 3.00%, TSMC (TSM) climbed 2.41%, Nvidia (NVDA) advanced 2.30%, Amazon (AMZN) added 1.87%, Broadcom (AVGO) rose 1.60%, Microsoft (MSFT) gained 1.59%, Google (GOOGL) advanced 1.55%, and Apple (AAPL) rose 0.85%; on the downside, SpaceX (SPCX) fell 0.56%.

[Source: FutuBull]

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 4.29% to 12,433.17 points, with all 30 constituents advancing.

Among chip stocks, Arm Holdings (ARM) surged 17.16%, Intel (INTC) jumped 12.14%, AMD (AMD) rose 9.95%, Qualcomm (QCOM) gained 9.29%, and Nvidia (NVDA) advanced 2.30%.

Among optical communications stocks, AXT Inc (AXTI) rose 14.14%, Credo Technology (CRDO) gained 6.47%, Corning (GLW) advanced 5.92%, and Marvell Technology (MRVL) climbed 5.38%.

Company News

OpenAI Reportedly Developing New Features to Counter Competition from Grok Bot and Meta Muse

OpenAI is developing tailored features to counter SpaceX's Grok Bot and Meta's newly launched Muse product, respectively. According to a report by The Information, OpenAI is developing features specifically targeting Grok Bot, which is positioned as an always-on digital work partner capable of managing software applications and handling routine background tasks. Meanwhile, OpenAI management has held discussions about launching a dedicated personal AI assistant to directly challenge Meta's Muse. Rather than building new systems from scratch, OpenAI's strategy involves reorganizing and rebranding existing agentic capabilities within its ChatGPT and Codex platforms.

OpenAI and Anthropic Reportedly Close to Agreement on Mutual AI Model Stress-Testing

According to a report by The Information, a person familiar with the matter revealed that long before OpenAI's technology triggered a series of cybersecurity incidents and drew stern warnings from industry insiders, the company was negotiating a legally binding agreement with Anthropic to mutually stress-test each other's AI models. It remains unclear whether they have finalized an agreement. This concept of mutual testing resembles an idea proposed by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk at the All-In Summit last week. Musk suggested at the time that competing AI laboratories should test each other's models for security vulnerabilities via a peer-review process prior to commercial release.

Meta Developer Conference Connect 2026 to Be Held on September 23

Meta Platforms' annual product event, Meta Connect 2026, will be held on September 23–24 local time. As the company expands Connect's focus beyond VR to AI, AR, smart glasses, and the metaverse, the market expects this year's conference to highlight hardware iterations and AI strategic progress. At this event, next-generation smart glasses, a lightweight mixed-reality device codenamed "Phoenix", and how AI capabilities enter the wearable ecosystem are all expected to be key focal points.

Industry & Macro News

Fed's Goolsbee: Returning to 2% Inflation Target "Won't Be Painless," Employment and Wages May Pay the Price

Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee warned on Monday that supply shocks have occurred more frequently and lasted longer in recent years, and the Fed can no longer simply "look through" them as transitory factors. If supply-side price pressures continue to spread to broader areas, the central bank will still need to suppress inflation by tightening policy, but the cost could be job losses, lower wages, and slower economic growth.

Morgan Stanley: Risk of Short-Term U.S. Stock Correction Rises, S&P 500 May Fall 7%

Morgan Stanley strategists stated that as energy prices remain high and bond market volatility intensifies, U.S. stocks face the risk of moving lower. In this scenario, the S&P 500 Index could fall by up to 7%. A team of Morgan Stanley strategists led by Michael Wilson wrote in a report that although strong corporate earnings have helped the stock market withstand the impact of rising U.S. Treasury yields, the valuation of the S&P 500 Index has continuously contracted over the past four months and is currently at its lowest level since March. Wilson, Morgan Stanley's chief U.S. equity strategist and chief investment officer, wrote in the report: "If financial conditions tighten further, or energy prices rise sharply, causing the recent valuation adjustment to deteriorate further, we believe the S&P 500 Index could fall to 7,100 points before the bull market resumes at the end of the year."