Stocks mostly declined on Thursday, led by losses in artificial intelligence-related companies after OpenAI disclosed that its annualized revenue was lower than figures previously reported. The company stated that its annualized revenue reached $50 billion at the end of September, a figure below the $68 billion reported in late October. This downward revision weighed on tech-heavy indices, with the Nasdaq Composite falling 1.25% and the S&P 500 dropping 0.47%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average bucked the trend, gaining 0.10%.
Market pressure was also driven by signals from the Federal Reserve regarding future interest rate policy. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller, speaking at a forum in Istanbul hosted by the Central Bank of Turkey, suggested that additional rate hikes are necessary to control inflation. While noting that such moves do not need to occur at consecutive meetings following the September hike, Waller indicated that they should be implemented within an acceptable timeframe.
These comments came shortly after the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest meeting. The document indicated that most participants assessed another increase in the target range for the federal funds rate would likely be appropriate by year-end. However, the minutes did not specify a precise timeline for this action, stating that future decisions depend on incoming information and its implications for the economic outlook and balance of risks.
The probability of a rate hike at the October meeting showed little change following the release of the minutes. According to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, odds remained above 80% on Wednesday and stood at 78% on Thursday.
Oil prices rose on reports that the Trump administration is considering resuming military strikes against Iran before the November midterm elections. NBC News reported that President Donald Trump conferred with his national security team about restarting attacks on Tehran in the near future. Axios detailed that the Pentagon instructed U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) to conclude preparations for such an operation.
Sources familiar with the matter told NBC News that if the campaign resumes, it would include large bombings of Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear targets. Hours later, President Trump addressed these reports on social media, stating that the U.S. "will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the Midterm Elections." He also claimed that Washington was having "productive discussions" with Iran.