Tonight’s Highlights: US Stock Futures Mixed, Google Surges Nearly 7% Pre-Market
Wednesday’s rebound was largely driven by tech stocks, though the Dow futures, with a lower tech weighting, declined. Energy and banking stocks weakened in pre-market trading, as concerns persist over economic slowdown and soaring bond yields.
In pre-market trading, Alphabet, Google’s parent company, saw its stock rise nearly 7%.
A US district judge ruled on Tuesday that Google can retain its Chrome browser but must not enter into exclusive search engine agreements with partners and must share search data with competitors. This ruling avoided the worst-case scenario.
The decision also means Apple can continue pre-installing Google Search on iPhones, a significant revenue source for the company.
As of this writing, Apple’s pre-market shares rose over 3%.
September is typically the weakest month for US stocks. Scott Wren, Senior Global Market Strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, noted that since 1950, the S&P 500 has averaged a -0.7% return in September.
“US stocks are forced to take a breather from their recent calm as they enter September,” Wren said. “Market volatility could increase, especially in equities and short- and long-term fixed-income markets. This trend is particularly evident amid economic slowdown, emerging tariff impacts, and ongoing political uncertainty.”
Company News
OpenAI Rival Anthropic Raises $13 Billion, Becomes World’s Fourth-Largest Unicorn
On September 2 local time, AI company Anthropic announced a $13 billion (approximately RMB 92.8 billion) Series F funding round, led by ICONIQ, Fidelity Management & Research, and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Post-funding, Anthropic’s valuation reached $183 billion (approximately RMB 1.3 trillion), making it the world’s fourth-largest unicorn, behind SpaceX (around $350 billion), ByteDance (around $330 billion), and OpenAI.
Waymo to Expand into Denver and Seattle, Furthering US Market Growth
Waymo, an Alphabet subsidiary focused on autonomous driving technology, announced on September 2 local time its expansion into Denver and Seattle, furthering its growth in the US market.
Toyota to Produce New Fully Electric Vehicle in Europe
On September 3, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Czech Republic (TMMCZ) announced the start of production for a new fully electric vehicle (BEV). This model will be the first pure EV produced at a Toyota plant in Europe.
Toyota stated it will invest approximately €680 million to expand its Kolín factory, increasing the site from 152,000 to 173,000 square meters to accommodate the new vehicle and its battery production, including new painting and welding workshops. This investment includes €64 million from the Czech government to build a dedicated battery assembly facility.