Preview of US Stock Market | All three major stock index futures rose together; the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield hit a new high since 2002; Micron (MU.US) fluctuated after earnings.

Pre-market Market Movements 1. On Thursday, October 1, in pre-market trading, all three major U.S. stock index futures rose together. As of press time, Dow futures were up 0.41%, S&P 500 index futures were up 0.43%, and Nasdaq futures were up 0.62%. 2. As of press time, Germany's DAX index was up 0.05%, the UK's FTSE 100 index was down 0.91%, France's CAC 40 index was down 0.49%, and the Euro Stoxx 50 index was down 0.34%. 3. As of press time, WTI crude oil was up 1.34% at $91.63 per barrel. Brent crude oil was up 1.87% at $99.86 per barrel. Market News The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield hit a new high since 2002, and the dollar index rose to a three-month high. The U.S. benchmark Treasury yield rose to its highest level since 2002, while the dollar index broke above its previous July high and reached a new high since the end of June. Persistent inflation, large-scale government borrowing, and strong economic growth have kept market interest rate expectations elevated. As oil prices rose, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield once climbed 4 basis points to 5.33%, surpassing its 2007 high. The 30-year U.S. Treasury yield also rose to its highest level since 2002. The U.S. Treasury market is experiencing a months-long selloff. Government bonds globally are under pressure, and high oil prices related to the Middle East war are having knock-on effects on the global economy, prompting investors to bet that central banks, including the Federal Reserve, will raise interest rates further. The U.S. pressured Europe to release diesel reserves to push down oil prices. According to people familiar with the matter, the U.S. government has told Germany and France to use emergency diesel reserves to ease global fuel prices, or else face a possible U.S. diesel export ban. In recent years, the United States has accounted for an increasing share of Europe's diesel supply. Recently, as the average U.S. diesel retail price soared and inflationary pressure threatened midterm election prospects, U.S. President Trump held emergency consultations with advisers to discuss whether to impose a diesel export ban. Trump said on September 30 local time that he was still evaluating options to stabilize oil prices, including an export ban, while also acknowledging that although a ban would lower diesel prices, it could put upward pressure on gasoline prices. U.S.-Iran talks reached an impasse, and Rubio gave Iran's delegation a "leave now" order. According to reports, a U.S. official and another person familiar with the matter said that after U.S.-Iran negotiations stalled, Rubio on Monday demanded that Iran's mission to the United Nations immediately leave the United States. Although the Iranian delegation may have been likely to leave the United States soon anyway, Rubio's move was a rare diplomatic rebuke and highlighted the deep-rooted distrust between the United States and Iran as mediation to end the war has yet to produce results. Qatari mediators had previously tried to push for a diplomatic breakthrough between the United States and Iran, but made little progress, with neither side willing to concede. The Iranian officials asked to leave New York included Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi. SoftBank completed the final $10 billion installment of its additional investment in OpenAI, bringing total investment to $64.6 billion. SoftBank announced on October 1 that it completed the third and final additional investment in OpenAI through SoftBank Vision Fund 2, in the amount of $10 billion. With that, all of the previously announced $30 billion additional investment has been completed. After this investment, SoftBank's cumulative investment in OpenAI reached $64.6 billion, with a stake of about 13%. The funds for this investment came from foreign-currency-denominated senior bonds that SoftBank announced on September 24. U.S. senators from both parties plan to push AI liability legislation requiring companies to be held responsible for agent intrusion behavior. U.S. Republican Senator Josh Hawley and Democratic Senator Chris Murphy plan to propose artificial intelligence liability legislation. Although Trump has made very clear his administration's position that the industry should self-regulate, a growing number of Republicans insist that new laws are needed. According to reports, the "AI Agent Accountability Act" will seek to make companies bear criminal and civil liability for hacking incidents. These lawmakers believe that current law leaves too much uncertainty over who should be held responsible when AI agents intrude into systems. This approach stands in sharp contrast to administration officials, who say existing laws can address harms caused by AI. Japan will release details of the first five-year blueprint of the Takaichi government's large-scale investment plan. The government led by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi plans to finalize the detailed costs for the first five years of its 14-year, $2.3 trillion investment plan, the first step toward removing uncertainty surrounding the massive program. According to documents submitted to Japan's growth strategy committee on Thursday, the government will list by the end of the year the areas and scale of domestic investment through around 2030, providing more details on its previously announced growth strategy. A Cabinet Secretariat official said the government also plans to provide a breakdown of public and private sector investment. U.S. and South Korea to launch $200 billion investment; Trump unveils three major energy projects. U.S. President Trump said earlier: "I met with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung in New York, and we agreed to launch $200 billion in new investment in the United States! Under the $350 billion South Korea strategic trade and investment agreement I reached with President Lee Jae-myung last year, we will build U.S. Energy Corp. and American Electric Power Company, Inc. projects across the United States. First, the United States and South Korea will advance a $120 billion nuclear power project, building eight large nuclear reactors in the United States, including six Westinghouse AP1000 reactors and two South Korean APR-1400 reactors. Second, the United States and South Korea have agreed to launch a $50 billion Alaska LNG project, developing Alaska's abundant resources, building new U.S. natural gas infrastructure, and having American workers participate in construction. Third, a large natural gas power project with a scale of $22 billion and an installed capacity of 6.4 gigawatts will be built in Ezzinah, Texas. This will add a large amount of reliable power supply capacity to Texas." Individual Stock News Post-earnings stock price fluctuates! Micron (MU.US) first-quarter revenue guidance exceeds expectations; CEO expects the next huge incremental market to be physical AI. Micron Technology, Inc.'s fiscal 2026 Q4 revenue was $54.229 billion, compared with $11.315 billion a year earlier and market expectations of $50.584 billion. Micron Technology, Inc. also gave a current-quarter sales forecast that exceeded expectations, as the rapid development of artificial intelligence drove unprecedented demand. The company said it expects revenue in the first quarter of the next fiscal year to be about $60 billion to $63 billion, while analysts on average expected $56.8 billion. The company expects memory and storage supply and demand conditions in fiscal 2027 and fiscal 2028 to be much tighter than in 2026. Excluding certain items, profit will be about $38.15 per share, compared with a forecast of $36.02. Nevertheless, Micron's stock price fluctuated in Friday pre-market trading. On the earnings call, Chairman and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said that beyond data centers, the next huge incremental market will be physical AI. "Autonomous vehicles are the first major deployment of physical AI, and we believe that over time it will expand to humanoid Siasun Robot&Automation and other intelligent autonomous systems." Ignoring AI disruption concerns, Accenture Plc Class A (ACN.US) delivered strong earnings. Accenture Plc Class A shares rose sharply after it reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results, temporarily dispelling growing market concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) could disrupt the consulting industry. Revenue for the quarter totaled $18.7 billion, exceeding analysts' expectations of $18.03 billion. Adjusted earnings per share were $3.29, also above Wall Street's expectation of $3.18. AI giants such as NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) and Meta (META.US) questioned Anthropic's "excessive warnings." People familiar with the matter said that during a White House event, tech executives including NVIDIA Corporation CEO Jensen Huang asked Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei why he had previously publicly emphasized risks such as cyberattacks and extreme unemployment that AI models could bring, saying his public remarks were too aggressive. Amodei responded that the industry needs to honestly explain AI model capabilities and potential risks to the public, rather than downplaying the issues. The discussion took place during a meeting between Trump and about a dozen AI company executives to promote the establishment of self-regulatory mechanisms in the industry. Anthropic has long advocated stricter safety measures and has criticized some companies and governments for underestimating AI risks; while corporate executives such as NVIDIA Corporation and Meta CEO Zuckerberg support a path more oriented toward industry self-regulation and rapid AI development. Previously, Anthropic, OpenAI, and Alphabet Inc. Class C had considered establishing an AI regulatory body similar to self-regulatory organizations in the financial industry, but the plan was ultimately abandoned because Huang, Zuckerberg, and SpaceX (SPCX.US) CEO Musk worried that such a mechanism could concentrate more power among leading AI companies. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR (TSM.US) is considering building a new campus in Texas to produce more AI chips. People familiar with the matter said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR is studying further construction of overseas facilities to meet unabated demand for artificial intelligence hardware. So far this year, North America has accounted for more than 75% of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR's wafer revenue, while AI chip designers such as NVIDIA Corporation and AMD (AMD.US) have brought huge orders for some of its most advanced technologies. People familiar with the matter said that if Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR ultimately decides to invest in Texas, the project will include multiple chip manufacturing plants, each costing at least $20 billion. However, these plans are still at an early stage. The potential investment in Texas also depends on whether U.S. lawmakers extend an advanced manufacturing tax credit scheduled to expire at the end of this year. Broadcom Inc. (AVGO.US) will provide Anthropic with up to $42 billion in loans for leasing its chips. Anthropic's IPO prospectus shows that the company has established extensive partnerships with a small number of large technology companies. One stands out in particular: Broadcom Inc. The company's cooperation with Anthropic covers computing power supply, equipment leasing, and financing. As part of this complex partnership, the IPO filing revealed that Broadcom Inc. has agreed to provide Anthropic with up to $42 billion in loans to finance infrastructure spending. In turn, Anthropic is expected to become the largest customer of Broadcom Inc.'s core chip design business next year. As part of the financing arrangement, Broadcom Inc. can designate a financing partner, and these debt instruments may convert into Anthropic stock. Netflix (NFLX.US) co-CEO says the company's growth rate is slower than expected. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said the company's growth rate has not met his expectations. Sarandos said on Wednesday local time: "Overall, we are not growing as fast as I would like, and we are working to accelerate growth. However, we are also doing some things that will create a lot of drag on that number." He said that although Netflix achieved double-digit revenue growth in all regions, its user engagement grew only 2% in the latest fiscal year. To drive growth, Netflix is expanding beyond its core business of films and TV series, with about 5% of its $20 billion content budget allocated to live programming. The company also plans to expand theatrical releases for some heavyweight films. Netflix shares have fallen about 24% so far this year. As the company continues to increase content spending, it expects revenue and profit growth to slow. Musk's SpaceX (SPCX.US) is considering adjusting subscription prices for Grok and X. According to relevant documents, Musk's SpaceXAI is considering adjusting subscription plans for the Grok chat Siasun Robot&Automation and the social platform X, planning to launch a unified subscription service with four price tiers. Among them, the free version will provide access to Grok but with stricter usage limits; the highest-tier "Ultra" package will cost $100 per month and include Grok Bot AI agent functionality, targeting high-frequency users. In addition, SpaceXAI also plans to launch an $8-per-month "Lite" package, offering access to Grok, an X platform verification badge, and fewer ads. SpaceXAI is currently competing with AI companies such as Anthropic and OpenAI, seeking to improve AI product capabilities and expand its enterprise customer base. Important Economic Data and Event Preview Beijing time 20:30: U.S. initial jobless claims for the week ending September 26. Beijing time 21:05: Richmond Fed President Barkin, Boston Fed President Collins, and Kansas City Fed President Schmid speak. Beijing time 21:30: European Central Bank President Lagarde speaks. Beijing time 21:45: Final U.S. September SPGI manufacturing PMI. Beijing time 22:00: U.S. September ISM manufacturing PMI; Federal Reserve Governor Waller speaks. Beijing time next day 01:30: Federal Reserve Vice Chair Jefferson speaks. Beijing time next day 03:00: Federal Reserve Governor Bowman speaks. Beijing time next day 03:30: FOMC permanent voter and New York Fed President Williams moderates a discussion at a central bank seminar hosted by the New York Fed. Beijing time next day 06:45: 2026 FOMC voter and Dallas Fed President Logan speaks. Earnings Preview Friday morning: NIKE, Inc. Class B (NKE.US)