Market Futures Snapshot

By 02:59 ET (06:59 GMT) U.S. equity futures were marginally higher, with the Dow futures up 75 points (0.1%), the S&P 500 futures up 7 points (0.1%) and Nasdaq‑100 futures essentially flat. The gains followed a rebound from a prior‑day sell‑off that had been driven by concerns over a growing debt pile financing the AI boom and the prospect of higher borrowing costs.

Fed Chair Kevin Warsh Avoids Forward Guidance

Speaking at an event in Thailand, Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh offered an upbeat view of the U.S. economy’s resilience to tighter monetary policy but declined to provide any specific rate guidance ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting scheduled for October 27‑28. Warsh said he has been discussing inflationary pressures with other central bankers and finds it “hard to be in a discussion … and not compare notes and hear the same thing about the surge in prices.” Consistent with his approach since taking the helm earlier this year, he emphasized that he does not “believe in saying now what I might do at the meetings that we have in the balance of this year.” The Fed had raised the policy rate by 25 basis points in September, aiming to bring inflation back to its 2 % target. Market participants are largely betting that the Fed will keep rates unchanged at the October meeting, with a brief spike in hike bets earlier in the week fading after hotter‑than‑expected consumer‑price data. A further quarter‑point increase is still being priced for the December meeting, the Fed’s final policy decision of the year.

Anthropic IPO Valuation Adjustments

Investors who met with Anthropic in San Francisco on Wednesday indicated that the AI frontier lab’s prospective IPO valuation may be revised down to roughly $1.5 trillion, a cut from earlier expectations of about $2 trillion. The company disclosed that its third‑quarter revenue jumped 45 % year‑over‑year to $16.8 billion, confirming strong demand for its Claude chatbot and other AI tools, though analysts noted that the sequential growth rate had slowed.

Taiwan Considers Stricter AI Chip Export Controls

According to Bloomberg, Taiwan is evaluating much tighter export‑control measures on artificial‑intelligence chips destined for China. The proposed rules would give authorities additional legal tools to curb the diversion of advanced hardware—particularly Nvidia‑based AI servers—through smuggling channels in Southeast Asia. While the move aligns Taiwan more closely with U.S. policy, it could provoke further backlash from Beijing, which has already resisted U.S. restrictions on AI‑chip exports imposed in 2022.

Tesla’s Redesigned Roadster Demonstration

Tesla unveiled a dramatically updated Roadster at SpaceX’s McGregor, Texas test facility. The vehicle incorporated SpaceX‑derived rocket thrusters that enabled it to launch off a curved ramp, execute a full inversion, and land on all four wheels using air‑thruster control. The demonstration also featured the car jumping over a line of parked cars and a semi‑truck. Elon Musk announced that production of the long‑awaited sports car is slated to begin in 2028, more than a decade after the previous concept was shown. Following the live event, Tesla shares rose over 3 % in extended‑hours trading.

CoreWeave Stock Stabilisation

Shares of AI‑focused cloud provider CoreWeave Inc recovered on Thursday after a steep decline on Wednesday that had helped trigger a broader rout in AI‑related equities. Analysts at ING noted that the market had “calmed a little” after the bounce, but the debate continues between the need for tighter monetary policy to curb price pressures and a softer stance to support a tech correction.

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