Short News

The Nasdaq Composite fell 100.07 points, or 0.36%, to 27,499.82 at 1:19 PM ET on Wednesday, giving back some ground after a second straight record close of 27,599.79 on October 6. The index traded between 27,341.31 and 27,502.43 as investors waited for the minutes of the Fed’s September 15-16 meeting, due at 2:00 PM ET. At that meeting policymakers raised the federal funds target range to 3.75% to 4.00%. Tuesday’s records for the Nasdaq and S&P 500 came on AI and chip stocks, easing Treasury yields and steadier crude prices. The 10-year yield stayed near 5.30%. The rally was narrow: the Russell 2000 fell about 0.6% while the big indexes rose.

Warren Buffett has never forecast a crash, but Wall Street’s record run has people revisiting what he says about surviving one. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished at all-time highs on October 6, powered by tech and AI shares, even as the 10-year Treasury yield pushed past 5.3%, a level not seen in about 24 years. Panmure Liberum has warned that the S&P 500 could slide to 5,000 by late 2027, more than 35% below current levels, though several other firms take a much rosier view. Buffett’s playbook is about endurance. He warns against borrowing to buy shares and has pointed out that Berkshire’s own stock has dropped around 50% more than once, with another such fall certain to come at a time no one can name. His guidance boils down to a long holding period, little or no leverage and no panic selling. In his 1996 letter he went further, suggesting that anyone who expects to bail out during a crash may be better off not owning stocks.

Tesla (TSLA) fell early Wednesday after three straight days of gains, with investors turning back to European self-driving regulations. The stock closed Tuesday at $380.68, up 0.51%, and traded near $377.60 in later quotes, down 0.81%. Shares are still down about 16% this year. Third-quarter EV deliveries came in well ahead of Wall Street estimates, and the stock rose on the news. Higher oil prices from geopolitical tensions have supported EV demand. Second-quarter deliveries grew 25% year over year to 480,126, the fastest annual growth in about two years.

Dow Jones futures fell 0.7% on Wednesday morning, while S&P 500 futures lost 0.3% and Nasdaq-100 futures dropped 0.6%. Both indexes had closed at record highs the day before. Selling in global bonds pushed the 30-year Treasury yield up to 5.70%, its highest level since 2002, as investors waited for the minutes of the Fed’s September meeting, when policymakers raised rates to fight inflation. The minutes should show whether that hike was a one-off or the first of several. Traders priced roughly 20% odds of another hike at the Fed’s October meeting next week.

SpaceX has reportedly rebounded about 60% from its recent low as investors focus on its expanding AI business. The company is reportedly seeking $40 billion to buy Nvidia chips for its AI infrastructure, while Elon Musk plans to build 10 GW of AI capacity by 2027. Stronger-than-expected earnings and rising Starlink subscribers have also supported the recovery. SpaceX shares previously fell from $225 to about $105 amid valuation and spending concerns but have since climbed above $170.

Anthropic is reportedly preparing a Nasdaq listing this fall, with Reuters saying marketing could begin in mid-October at the earliest and the listing could finish before the November midterms. Nothing is confirmed until a public prospectus is filed, and IPO timelines often shift. If it lists at the roughly $2 trillion valuation investors reportedly expect, Anthropic would clear the top-40 threshold under Nasdaq’s May 2026 “fast entry” rule and could join the Nasdaq-100 after 15 trading days. More than $800 billion tracks the index, so funds like QQQ would have to buy shares. SpaceX followed the same path, joining on July 7 after its June 12 debut, with J.P. Morgan estimating about $4.3 billion in passive inflows. It entered below a 1% weighting because index weights count only tradable shares, and its stock fell nearly 6% on the day it joined.

Nvidia shares climbed above $243 to a fresh record, after closing at a record $238.90 on Monday, October 5. At that close the chipmaker was worth about $5.8 trillion, roughly 4% short of $6 trillion, a level no company has reached. Higher semiconductor price targets across Wall Street are fueling the rally, and the move breaks past $236, where sellers had repeatedly blocked a breakout. History offers a warning. Five times a US company has been first to a new trillion-dollar level, Apple at $1, $2 and $3 trillion and Nvidia at $4 and $5 trillion. In the following 12 months, returns ranged from a 31% loss to a 27% gain, and the stock beat the S&P 500 only twice. Rising data-center financing costs and increasingly complex funding structures could also make the next leg harder.