Morning Bid: As oil swoons, AI recharges

Meta Platforms shares surged over 11% following the enthusiastic market reception of its new artificial intelligence assistant, Muse. The successful rollout reignited broad investor enthusiasm across the technology sector, lifting the Nasdaq to fresh record highs and mitigating recent weeks of market apprehension regarding artificial intelligence spending and safety concerns. The renewed optimism propelled semiconductor equities sharply higher, with Advanced Micro Devices jumping nearly 10% to cross the $1 trillion market capitalization threshold, joining the ranks of the largest US chipmakers. The SOX semiconductor index advanced more than 4%, bolstered further by trade data revealing that South Korean semiconductor exports surged 259.4% year-over-year in early September. Broader market sentiment was additionally aided by declining energy prices, as Brent crude retreated below $100 per barrel amid tentative diplomatic signals in the Middle East. Nevertheless, investors continue to monitor several macro risks, including hawkish rhetoric from Federal Reserve officials, escalating French sovereign debt spreads, and an upcoming high-stakes diplomatic summit between US President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping.