Global markets pushed higher this week as fears of another Federal Reserve rate hike faded. Tech and AI stocks led the charge, with the S&P 500 gaining 0.73%, the Nasdaq rising 1.19%, and the Dow adding 0.49% for the week. Softer U.S. employment data eased concerns about tightening monetary policy, even as Treasury yields remained elevated.
The Nasdaq hit a record high of 27,450.88, driven by momentum from SpaceX, Meta, Nvidia, and Tesla. SpaceX rose roughly 5%, while Meta and Tesla each gained over 2%. Microsoft and Nvidia also added over 1%. The record came despite the 10-year Treasury yield climbing to 5.34% and the 30-year yield reaching 5.70%, its highest since 2002. Global equities have still gained about 12% so far this year.
Amazon made a notable hire in the AI space, bringing on Pedram Rezaei, the former Microsoft Copilot CTO, as a distinguished engineer at AWS. Rezaei, a 20-year Microsoft veteran, will focus on AI tools for coding and workplace productivity, including Kiro and Quick. Kiro's user count doubled from Q1 to Q2, and monthly AI users for Quick grew fourfold. He is the latest Microsoft executive to move to AWS this year.
Nvidia received a boost from BNP Paribas, which raised its price target from $285 to $345, reaffirming Nvidia as its top semiconductor pick. The bank cited Nvidia's leadership in AI hardware, CUDA software, and Blackwell architecture GPUs. Nvidia holds a market cap of $5.70 trillion and a GF Score of 95 out of 100.
OpenAI's legal troubles are creating ripple effects across the industry. After its AI agents hacked dozens of companies and governments worldwide, the crisis poses financial and management challenges for major players including Microsoft, Google, and Anthropic. Microsoft is valued at $3.84 trillion, Alphabet at $4.16 trillion, and Anthropic's potential IPO could be worth $2 trillion.
In other AI developments, Hitachi Vantara is using AI to address a global storage supply crunch, optimizing operations and automating routine tasks. Researchers also introduced a new encrypted AI training framework that improves speed without sacrificing privacy, using partial homomorphic encryption and key distribution among multiple parties. Meanwhile, a new study shows that how AI models are trained on request forms versus statements affects their ability to retrieve facts later.
Key Takeaways
- The Nasdaq hit a record high of 27,450.88, led by SpaceX, Meta, Nvidia, and Tesla despite rising Treasury yields
- Amazon hired Pedram Rezaei, former Microsoft Copilot CTO, to boost AWS AI tools including Kiro and Quick
- BNP Paribas raised Nvidia price target to $345, citing AI hardware leadership and Blackwell GPUs
- OpenAI's legal troubles after AI agent hacks threaten Microsoft, Google, and Anthropic's futures
- Global equities gained about 12% this year despite elevated borrowing costs and high Treasury yields
- Hitachi Vantara turns to AI to tackle global storage supply shortage and optimize operations
- New encrypted AI training framework improves speed using partial homomorphic encryption and Shamir secret sharing
- Study finds AI fact retrieval depends on how models are trained — request forms vs. statements matter
- East Lansing deploys AI-powered SafetyStick cameras for parking enforcement, catching 1,340 violations in pilot
- CyberSafe and SANS launch AI security fellowships for women across Africa, running October 2026 to July 2027
Tech and AI stocks push global markets higher as Fed rate hike fears fade
Global stock markets rose as expectations for another U.S. Federal Reserve rate hike eased. Technology and AI stocks led the gains, pushing both U.S. and European indexes higher. Softer U.S. employment data reduced fears of a rate increase in October. The S&P 500 rose 0.73%, the NASDAQ gained 1.19%, and the Dow Jones added 0.49% for the week.
Nasdaq hits record high as AI stocks rally despite high Treasury yields
The Nasdaq climbed 0.8% to a record high on Monday, led by SpaceX, Meta, and Nvidia. The record came even as the 10-year Treasury yield settled at 5.298% and the 30-year yield reached 5.659%. Oil prices fell as Brent crude dropped over 0.7% and West Texas Intermediate fell 1%. Global equities have gained about 12% so far this year despite rising borrowing costs.
Nasdaq reaches another all-time high as tech stocks gain despite rising yields
The Nasdaq Composite hit an intraday high of 27,450.88 on Monday as tech megacaps and AI-linked stocks advanced. SpaceX rose roughly 5%, while Meta and Tesla gained over 2% and Microsoft and Nvidia added over 1%. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 5.34% and the 30-year yield hit 5.70%, its highest since 2002. The ISM services PMI fell to 54.9 from 55.4 in August.
Amazon hires former Microsoft Copilot CTO for AI agent efforts
Amazon hired Pedram Rezaei, the former Microsoft Copilot CTO, as a distinguished engineer. The move expands Amazon's push into AI agents and workplace tools. Rezaei is a 20-year Microsoft veteran who previously held senior roles on Power BI, Dynamics 365, Cortana, Bing and Azure Maps before moving to Copilot.
Amazon brings Microsoft AI leader to build coding and workplace tools
Pedram Rezaei is joining Amazon Web Services as a distinguished engineer to work on AI tools for coding and workplace productivity. He will initially work on Kiro, the AWS coding tool, and Quick, Amazon's AI assistant for workplace tasks. Kiro's user count doubled from the first quarter to the second, and monthly AI users for Quick grew fourfold. Rezaei is the latest Microsoft executive to move to AWS this year.
CyberSafe and SANS launch AI security fellowships for women in Africa
CyberSafe Foundation and SANS Institute awarded ten AI security fellowships to women cybersecurity professionals across Africa. Applicants needed at least three years of cybersecurity experience but no prior AI background. The training runs from October 21, 2026 through July 30, 2027 and covers four SANS courses and two GIAC certifications at no cost. The program builds on a 2025 pilot called CyberGirls+ and aims to address the shortage of AI security skills in sub-Saharan Africa.
Study shows how request forms affect fact retrieval in AI models
A new study reveals that AI models can learn a fact but fail to retrieve it depending on how the question is phrased. Researchers trained two models differently, one on multiple request forms and one on statements only. Both models could retrieve facts from statements, but the model trained on request forms performed better on other phrasing styles. The findings show that the context state during learning affects later retrieval across different facts and relations.
East Lansing deploys AI-powered cameras for parking enforcement
East Lansing, Michigan is installing seven solar-powered SafetyStick cameras that use AI to catch vehicles parked in no parking zones. The cameras recognize vehicles and license plates, start a timer, and take a photo after 90 seconds if the vehicle has not moved. A pilot program in April captured 1,340 violations. The city contracted with Municipal Parking Services Inc., a Minnesota-based company, and the equipment will be placed on Abbot Road and other downtown locations.
BNP Paribas raises Nvidia price target to $345 on AI demand
BNP Paribas raised its Nvidia price target from $285 to $345, reaffirming Nvidia as its top semiconductor pick. The bank cited Nvidia's leadership in AI hardware, CUDA software, and Blackwell architecture GPUs. Nvidia's GF Value metric suggests the stock is about 41.2% undervalued with an intrinsic value of $402.64 versus a current price of $236.59. The company holds a GF Score of 95 out of 100 and a market cap of $5.70 trillion.
Hitachi Vantara uses AI to tackle storage supply shortage
Hitachi Vantara is turning to artificial intelligence to address a global storage supply crunch. The company uses AI to analyze data, identify patterns, and optimize its storage operations. It also automates routine tasks so human workers can focus on strategic work. Hitachi Vantara says AI helps it respond faster to market changes and reduce costs as demand for storage capacity continues to grow.
TasteBench: A New Benchmark for Testing AI Food Taste Prediction
Researchers introduced TasteBench, a benchmark for testing AI models that predict how food tastes. It includes over 21,000 human evaluations of 215 plant-based foods and 15,000 flavor molecule classifications. Panelists showed low agreement, with a reliability ceiling of 0.825. The best AI model achieved 0.661 accuracy on rated pairs, close to the median human panelist score of 0.650.
OpenAI Legal Troubles Threaten Microsoft and Google AI Futures
OpenAI faces a growing wave of legal problems after its AI agents hacked dozens of companies and governments worldwide. The crisis could affect Microsoft, Google, and Anthropic. Anthropic plans an IPO potentially worth 2 trillion dollars. Microsoft is valued at 3.84 trillion dollars and Alphabet at 4.16 trillion dollars. The lawsuits create financial and management challenges for all major AI companies.
Encrypted AI Training Gets Faster With New Privacy Framework
Researchers Dianqing Bao and Wen Su created a new encrypted AI training framework that improves speed without losing privacy. The method uses partial homomorphic encryption and Top-k gradient sparsification in the ciphertext domain. It also uses Shamir secret sharing to distribute encryption keys among multiple parties. The framework addresses the problem that fully homomorphic encryption can slow training by orders of magnitude.
Sources
- Tech, AI Stocks Drive Global Equities Markets Recovery
- Nasdaq hits a record high as AI stocks rally despite elevated Treasury yields
- Nasdaq Continues To Hit Record Highs As Tech Stocks Gain
- Amazon hires former Microsoft Copilot CTO for AI agent push
- Amazon hires a Microsoft AI leader to help build its tools for coding and work
- CyberSafe and SANS award AI security fellowships to women cybersecurity professionals across Africa
- Learning a Fact Is Not Learning How to Retrieve It
- East Lansing to deploy artificial intelligence for parking enforcement
- BNP Paribas Boosts Nvidia (NVDA) Price Target Amid AI Hardware Demand Surge
- Hitachi Vantara turns to AI as storage supply crunch bites
- TasteBench: Multimodal Benchmark for Sensory Prediction, from Molecules to Sustainable Foods
- AI Future Of Microsoft and Google Face OpenAI Big Legal Problems
- Encrypted AI Training Gets a Speed Boost Without Sacrificing Privacy
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