CNBC Daily Open: The Fed spoke, but AI roared
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell takes questions from reporters during a news conference following a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee at the Federal Reserve on Sept. 17, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images
Investors barely flinched Wednesday, despite the release of the Fed minutes and the ongoing U.S. government shutdown.
Discussions on rate cuts and shutdowns seemed to be mere background noise compared to the real force moving markets now, namely, artificial intelligence.
AI stocks such as Nvidia are now masters of the market narrative, driving record highs across the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.
On the flip side, Oracle became the proverbial straw that broke the S&P500’s seven-day winning streak Tuesday stateside.
But, to paraphrase Spider-Man, with great power, comes great scrutiny. The Bank of England warned that valuations appear “stretched,” particularly for AI companies, adding that equity markets could be particularly exposed should expectations around the impact of AI become less optimistic.
For now, Wall Street remains in hyperdrive, fueled by AI’s promise and the hope that the Fed will keep cutting rates.
Investors may soon need to reckon with whether this AI-fueled rally is built on solid ground or it’s swinging toward a cliff.
What you need to know today
Israel, Hamas reach ‘first phase’ plan. U.S. President Donald Trump said that both parties have “signed off” on the first phase of his peace plan. Under the plan, Trump said that all hostages will be released and Israel will withdraw forces to an “agreed upon line.”
Fed sees two rate cuts by end-2025. The central bank’s officials in September were strongly inclined to lower interest rates, with the only dispute seeming to be over how many cuts were coming, meeting minutes released Wednesday stateside showed.
Nvidia CEO surprised at ‘clever’ AMD deal. CEO Jensen Huang said Wednesday that he’s surprised Advanced Micro Devices offered 10% of itself to OpenAI as part of a multibillion-dollar partnership announced earlier this week. “I’m surprised that they would give away 10% of the company before they even built it. And so anyhow, it’s clever, I guess,” he said.
S&P 500 and Nasdaq rebound to record. Both indexes notched new all-time intraday and closing highs Wednesday stateside. The broad index was powered by the information technology, utilities and industrial sectors. Over in Europe, stocks ended higher after the EU proposed slashing its tariff-free steel import quota.
[PRO] Best ways to gain gold exposure. As the bullion hits new highs, industry experts say there is still room for gold to to run, with one analyst saying that gold could reach $5,000 per ounce by 2026. Here are the best ways to gain exposure to the yellow metal.
And finally…
The Google logo is seen outside a building housing Google offices in Beijing on February 4, 2025. China on February 4 said it would probe US tech giant Google over violations of anti-monopoly laws after Washington slapped 10 percent levies on Chinese goods.
Greg Baker | Afp | Getty Images
Google adds limits to ‘Work from Anywhere’ policy that began during Covid
Google is continuing to put restrictions on remote work, this time with a popular policy called “Work from Anywhere” that was established during the Covid pandemic.
The policy has allowed employees to work from a location outside of their main office for up to four weeks per calendar year.
According to internal documents viewed by CNBC, working remotely for even a single day will now count for a full week.
— Jennifer Elias
