Finance

Despite broader macroeconomic headwinds and a tough month for various sectors, artificial intelligence and chipmaker stocks continued to act as core market drivers. Micron Technology led the momentum after revealing a blowout fiscal fourth-quarter performance with revenue that quadrupled from the prior year. Additionally, Alphabet saw early-session gains following the announcement of its latest artificial intelligence framework, Gemini 4 Argon.

Energy commodities spiked notably as West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained over 2% to settle around $93 a barrel, while Brent crude climbed to near $100 a barrel. Market observers attributed the sharp upward pressure to escalating geopolitical friction, including the current Iran conflict impasse and reports regarding prospective troop movements in the Middle East. The persistent surge in energy costs is further compounding global worries over long-term inflation and upcoming central bank actions.

Speculation over an aggressive interest rate hike at the upcoming October Federal Reserve meeting subsided somewhat due to a lighter-than-anticipated reading from the central bank's preferred inflation gauge. Comments from Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson also provided relief to credit-sensitive industries, with indication that policy makers may require extra time to gauge the economy before implementing stricter monetary tightening. However, investors remain highly cautious as they await the highly anticipated September non-farm payrolls data.