4:10pm: Another record close for US stocks
US stocks ended trading on Monday with a third record close in a row, led by Big Tech.
The Nasdaq added 0.7% at 22,780 points, while the S&P 500 gained 0.4% at 6,694 points, and the Dow Jones finished up 0.1% at 46,382 points.
Notable stock movers included Nvidia Corp, which gained 4% after the AI chipmaker said it would invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI in the coming years.
2:45pm: Proactive news headlines
- BioHarvest Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:BHST) has strengthened its finances by pulling in $10.9 million in fresh investment and trimming $3.8 million in debt through a series of deals involving warrants and convertible notes.
- T Stamp Inc (NASDAQ:IDAI, EURONEXT:AIID) doing business as Trust Stamp, said it has registered its blockchain-based TRUSTED token on Wyoming’s official digital asset register, marking a new step in its identity-focused blockchain strategy.
- Standard Uranium Ltd (TSX-V:STND, OTCQB:STTDF) has confirmed strong surface radioactivity during its 2025 exploration program at the Corvo uranium project in Saskatchewan.
1pm: Nvidia deal with OpenAI
Nvidia has agreed another deal, agreeing to invest up to $100 billion in ChatGPT maker OpenAI, linked to its plans to build out data centers using 10 gigawatts of the former's AI processors.
Nvidia said it intends to invest "progressively as each gigawatt is deployed", with the first GW of its chip systems to be deployed in the second half of next year.
"Nvidia and OpenAI have pushed each other for a decade, from the first DGX supercomputer to the breakthrough of ChatGPT,” said CEO Jensen Huang.
"This investment and infrastructure partnership mark the next leap forward — deploying 10 gigawatts to power the next era of intelligence.”
Nvidia stock rose 4.3%, boosting its market valuation to almost $4.5 trillion.
Last week, Huang announced $5 billion investment in Intel as part of a partnership to co-develop custom data center and PC products.
12.21am: Fed speakers
The Nasdaq and S&P 500 are up 0.6% and 0.3%, rallying after the nervous start.
More Federal Reserve members have been shooting the breeze.
To be precise, it's new Fed governor Stephen Miran; Thomas Barkin, a voting member of the FOMC; and Beth Hammack, a nonvoting member.
Miran delivered prepared remarks at the Economic Club of New York a few days after he was the only FOMC member to vote for a 50-basis-point rate cut at last week's meeting, his first after being appointed on the recommendation of Donald Trump.
Miran said he supported a larger cut than his new colleagues, as he feels that current monetary policy is "very restrictive" and risks "unnecessary layoffs and higher unemployment".
He said other officials are underestimating how restrictive policy currently is because the Fed hasn’t fully accounted for shifts in immigration, tariffs, tax law, and regulation, which he says have combined to push down the economy’s neutral rate of interest.
"I believe the appropriate fed funds rate is in the mid-2% area, almost two percentage points lower than current policy," he said.
Barkin, meanwhile, says the "fog around the economy is beginning to lift, but businesses are still cautious about new investment".
He sees only a "tiny amount" of the effect of tariffs is feeding through to consumers, now, as "it takes time for tariffs to go through".
He says business confidence has started to rise again.
And Hammack, she says the US is currently a two-speed economy, with lower-income households struggling.
She says the genesis of the rate cut was the shifting risk balance and says inflation is returning in both goods and services.
In short, it's complicated, but if inflation is creeping up, then that might put paid to many more rate cuts.
11.49am: Visas and crypto
Nvidia, Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft are lower as the market digests President Trump’s plan to charge $100,000 for new H-1B visa applications.
"Amazon and Microsoft are some of the top users of H-1B visas, and the concern is that they will struggle to attract new foreign talent, which could impact productivity down the line," says Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.
"We believe that the tech giants will be able to afford the visas, and this selloff in tech shares will be temporary, in the same way that tariff concerns weighed on stocks before dying down."
She noted that the bond market was rallying in the US, with yields falling across the curve.
The surge in the gold price to a fresh record high comes with an "interesting dynamic" in the background of crypto getting slammed.
Falls in bitcoin, ethereum and other digital assets "highlights an unusual fragility in risk sentiment at the start of this week", with Brooks noting that in recent months gold and crypto had been moving closely together.
10.46am: Pfizer gobbles weightloss drug developer
Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE, ETR:PFE) has agreed to acquire weight-loss drug developer Nasdaq-listed Metsera in a deal valued at up to $7.3 billion.
“We are excited to apply our deep cardiometabolic experience and manufacturing and commercial infrastructure to accelerate a portfolio that includes potential best-in-class injectables, with clinical data differentiated by efficacy, tolerability and durability supporting monthly dosing, with the aim to address the ongoing unmet needs associated with obesity and related diseases,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement.
The company is playing catch-up to companies such as Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, who were the first to have drugs approved, with the global obesity drug market projected to reach $150 billion by the early 2030s.
Pfizer's development efforts with its own weight-loss pill suffered setbacks recently after a trial patient experienced a potential drug-induced liver injury, resolved after the medication was stopped.
10.14am: US offers financial lifeline to Argentina
The Nasdaq and S&P 500 are now in green, inching higher after their wobbly start.
The US has offered a financial lifeline to Argentina, with presidents Javier Milei and Donald Trump set to meet tomorrow.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said "all options for stabilization are on the table" to support Argentina.
"These options may include, but are not limited to, swap lines, direct currency purchases, and purchases of U.S. dollar-denominated government debt from Treasury’s Exchange Stabilization Fund," Bessent wrote on X.
Argentina is a systemically important U.S. ally in Latin America, and the @USTreasury stands ready to do what is needed within its mandate to support Argentina.
All options for stabilization are on the table. 1/4
— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) September 22, 2025
9.49am: Week starts in red
It's a low-spirited start to the week, with the Dow Jones and Russell 2000 leading the losses.
The blue-chip Dow has dropped 0.5%, while the small cap Russell index has retreated another 1.1% to add to a faltering finish to last week.
In between, the S&P 500 dipped just over 0.1% and the Nasdaq was a little less than that.
Biggest fallers on the S&P are Coinbase, down 3.7%, followed by Kenvue, after reports of the Trump administration linking Tylenol to autism.
Strategy, the bitcoin holder, is the big faller on the Naddaq 100, down 3.7%.
8.10am: S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq all called lower
Wall Street stocks were predicted to experience a subdued start to the week after several days extending record highs, with cryptocurrencies selling off on Monday while the price of gold continued to surge.
Futures for the Dow Jones and Nasdaq 100 were down almost 0.4%, while S&P 500 futures were pointing to a decline of just over 0.3%.
Gold continued to ascend to new record highs, smashing through $3,729, up from $3682 on Friday, while bitcoin fell 2.3% and other second-line cryptos like ethereum and XRP plunged 7-7%.
On Friday, the Dow, S&P and Nasdaq posted gains of 0.4%, 0.5% and 0.7% respectively to all close at new record highs, though the more domestically focused small and mid-cap Russell 2000 closed down 0.8%.
Over the week, the Nasdaq and Russell 2000 led the gain, both adding 2.2%, as the market digested the Federal Reserve's first interest rate cut of the year and eyed prospects for more in the coming months.
More meat could be put on those bones this week, with a raft of Fed speakers, including Chair Jerome Powell, tomorrow afternoon.
Monday brings updates from FOMC members John Williams, Alberto Musalem, Thomas Barkin and Beth Hammack, with a first words from Stephen Miran, since being President Trump’s preferred appointee as Fed governor.
"Miran, who voted for a 50 basis point rate cut at last week’s meeting, will have to address critics who question his independence, given his existing role at the White House," said market analyst David Morrison at Trade Nation.
The VIX volatility index continues to edge higher, he said, "making back a significant chunk of Wednesday’s sell-off" in the aftermath of the Fed cut.
"Despite this, the VIX remains at relatively muted levels, suggesting that risk appetite remains intact, with investors reluctant to bid up protection despite elevated valuations in equities.
"However, with key inflation data due at the end of the week and frequent Fed commentary on tap, the index could see renewed activity should market conditions shift quickly."
In company news, Fox Corp A and B shares gained almost 3% and 5% respectively after President Trump said in a Sunday interview that chairman Rupert Murdoch and CEO Lachlan Murdoch are likely to be part of the group of investors buy the US arm of TikTok.
Trump's H-1B visas were also featured in market chatter.
Economist Atakan Bakiskan at Berenberg said the visas are an "anti-growth" policy and tilt the risk to growth forecasts to the downside.
The Trump administration's hostile environment for foreign workers has already contributed to the US labour force growth nearly flatlining, he said.
"The future of economic growth now depends almost exclusively on productivity gains. However, by making it very expensive for companies to attract foreign talent, and by forcing some international students to leave the country after graduation, the brain drain will weigh heavily on productivity."
It could get worse.
He adds: "Taken together, the erosion of trust in institutions, a loss of human capital, tariffs, chronic uncertainty, and unsustainable fiscal policies can raise the tail risk of a financial crisis in the US.
"In the long run, they may set a path for an even weaker dollar and higher long-term yields."