The Closer
Published
Wednesday's hot CPI print, which pushed the S&P 500 down 1.2% and sent five-year Treasury yields to 2007 highs, is still working through markets after the bell, with rate-hike repricing and AI infrastructure skepticism both extending into the after-hours session.
The AI-spending selloff that hit CoreWeave, Dell and Nebius Group during the day carried through after hours. CoreWeave fell another 5.2% after its CEO again called the move irrational, Nebius dropped 3.7%, and Sandisk slid 4.1%. Rocket Lab was the session's sharpest decliner at -7.7% after the company said its Neutron launch vehicle's debut has slipped to 2027 from its prior timeline, citing ongoing manufacturing and testing milestones. SK hynix fell 3.8% and ON Semiconductor slipped 2%, extending the day's semiconductor weakness. Against that, VanEck Space ETF jumped 6.9%, CAE gained 3.7%, and BNY Mellon added 2.2%.
Commodities diverged from the equity mood. Spot gold rose 1% to $4,144.03 after the prior session's drop, while natural gas fell 2.6% to $3.198/MMBTU, its sharpest decline in two weeks, as production recovered following Hurricane Isaias and LNG export flows rose 9.1% week over week. API data showed US crude stocks fell 11.12 million barrels, well beyond the forecast build, against the backdrop of the ongoing Strait of Hormuz disruptions.
Geopolitical threads multiplied through the evening. The Pentagon has moved MQ-9 Reaper drones into Colombia and Ecuador and is reportedly planning to expand strikes from boats onto land targets. The US is said to be weighing unfreezing some Russian assets and easing sanctions on shadow-fleet vessels as part of an effort to restart Ukraine peace talks, even as US senators press Elon Musk over reported Starlink outages affecting Ukrainian forces. North Korea tested submarine-launched cruise missiles, and Netanyahu said regime change in Iran is not realistic before Israeli elections.
On the corporate side, Transocean's acquisition of Valaris cleared Brazilian antitrust review without restrictions, Anthropic reported $16.8 billion in third-quarter revenue ahead of its planned IPO, and Lockheed Martin announced a $300 million expansion of its Texas munitions plant expected to add 6,000 jobs. Apple is said to be preparing an AI platform launch in mainland China after a lengthy regulatory delay. European futures slipped into Thursday's open, with the Eurostoxx 50 down 0.7%, as the rate and AI-spending repricing look set to carry overseas.