Wall Street Jumps to Record Highs Led by Tech Surge as Oil Prices Fall
Wall Street rallied on Monday, led by a 2.3% jump in the Nasdaq, driven by tech stocks and Meta's new AI agent Muse. Meanwhile, WTI crude dropped 4% to $95 a barrel despite Middle East tensions.
Wall Street closed sharply higher on Monday, driven by a surge in major technology stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.7%, the S&P 500 gained 1.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.3% to a record high. Meanwhile, WTI crude oil lost 4% to $95 a barrel, and Brent crude plunged 3% to $100 a barrel.
The drop in oil prices came despite the latest escalation in Middle Eastern fighting over the weekend. Iran-backed Houthis reported attacking Saudi Arabia with missiles and drones on Saturday. Later that day, the US State Department warned American citizens to reconsider travel to the Middle East amid exchanged threats between the US and Iran over resumed strikes.
Prominent stocks included Intel, which jumped 12.1%, Meta, which surged 11.4%, and ARM and AMD, which soared 17% and 10% respectively. Warner Bros. Discovery jumped 10.8%, while Paramount Skydance fell 2.9%. The surge in tech stocks is attributed to reports that Meta's new AI agent, Muse—launched on September 8—climbed to the top spot among free iPhone apps in the US within roughly ten days of launch.
According to Barron's, the link between Muse's success and the stock jump stems from the fact that AI agents like Muse require not only GPUs for model training, but massive amounts of CPU work to run agents over time, thereby driving widespread demand for processors. Unlike standard chatbots, Muse is designed to perform actual tasks for the user, such as sending emails, booking flights and hotels, making purchases, filling out forms, and even negotiating on the user's behalf.
