Tonight’s Highlights | US Stock Futures Edge Higher, Tesla Robot Team Exec Joins Meta
On Friday , US stock futures for the three major indices saw slight gains in pre-market trading.
As of this writing, Dow Jones futures are up 0.15%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.18%, and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.15%. Apple, Tesla, and Oracle each rose over 1%.
The previous trading day saw all three major US indices climb, closing at historic highs. Buoyed by the Federal Reserve’s rate cut boosting investor confidence, Nvidia’s stake in Intel triggered a chip stock rally.
Notably, this rally’s reach is broader than before, with the Russell 2000 small-cap index up 2.51%, hitting its highest level since 2021.
Aswath Damodaran, professor at NYU Stern School of Business, said, “The market is supported by earnings data. As long as earnings hold steady, there’s no catalyst for a pullback.”
Just before this report, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari endorsed the Fed’s 25-basis-point rate cut this week and predicted two more cuts this year.
Andrea Gabellone, global equity head at KBC Global Services, noted, “Clearly, the Fed is prioritizing growth and the job market over inflation concerns, though we must watch the economic impact.”
European markets trading now are generally up, with Germany’s DAX down 0.03%, the UK’s FTSE 100 up 0.06%, and France’s CAC 40 up 0.23%.
Corporate News
Tesla Optimus AI Team Leader Joins Meta
Optimus AI team leader Ashish Kumar is leaving Tesla to join Meta as a research scientist. On September 19 local time, Kumar posted on social media reflecting on his Tesla tenure, calling leading the Optimus AI team “an exciting and memorable journey.”
He highlighted pushing scalable methods—replacing traditional tech stacks with reinforcement learning and using video to enhance robot dexterity—and stressed that AI is the key to unlocking humanoid robots.
Nvidia Plans $500 Million Investment in UK Autonomous Driving Startup Wayve
UK autonomous driving startup Wayve announced on September 19 that it signed a letter of intent with Nvidia to evaluate a $500 million strategic investment in its next funding round.
WeRide’s Robobus Secures Belgium’s First L4 Autonomous Driving License
WeRide announced its Robobus has obtained Belgium’s first federal L4-level autonomous driving test license.
This makes WeRide the only tech company globally with autonomous driving licenses in seven countries: Belgium, China, France, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and the US.
New Study on Reduced-Dose Semaglutide: Most Weight Loss from Fat Reduction, Muscle Function Unaffected
Novo Nordisk presented multiple studies at the 2025 European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) annual meeting. The STEP UP trial showed participants on a higher dose of Novo Nordisk’s weight-loss semaglutide (7.2 mg) achieved an average 21% weight reduction versus placebo, with one-third losing 25% or more.
In the trial, 84.5% of the weight loss with 7.2 mg semaglutide came from fat reduction. Subgroup analysis indicated no significant difference in lean mass or muscle changes compared to placebo, with muscle function preserved.
Ming-Chi Kuo: Nvidia-Intel Collaboration Could Define AI PCs and Accelerate Growth
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote that the Nvidia-Intel partnership could define AI PCs and speed their development. For Nvidia, developing Windows on ARM processors carries high uncertainty; for Intel, quickly boosting GPU competitiveness is tough.
Their CPU+GPU collaboration could create strong synergies and advantages in the PC ecosystem. In servers, Intel has x86 enterprise clients and ample resources, while Nvidia brings tech prowess—deep integration of tech and sales could tap massive demand.