Yahoo Finance·2025-09-24 10:06Economic Outlook - Fed Chair Jerome Powell highlighted ongoing risks to both the labor market and inflation, indicating a challenging path for policymakers regarding potential rate cuts [1] - Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee and Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic emphasized caution on further rate cuts due to inflation remaining above target [6] Economic Data - U.S. S&P Global manufacturing PMI fell to 52.0 in September, below expectations of 52.2, while services PMI dropped to 53.9, also weaker than the anticipated 54.0 [2] - The Richmond Fed manufacturing index unexpectedly declined to -17 in September, compared to expectations of -5 [2] Stock Market Performance - Wall Street's major indexes closed lower, with notable declines in the Magnificent Seven stocks, including Amazon.com (AMZN) down over -3% and Nvidia (NVDA) down more than -2% [3] - Alibaba Group (BABA) shares surged over +9% in pre-market trading following an announcement to increase AI spending beyond its initial $53 billion target [4] - Micron Technology (MU) rose over +1% in pre-market trading after reporting strong FQ4 results and issuing above-consensus FQ1 guidance [4][15] Futures and Bonds - December Nasdaq 100 E-Mini futures are trending up +0.30% amid optimism over AI investments [5] - The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note is at 4.110%, down -0.24% [8] International Markets - The Euro Stoxx 50 Index is down -0.29%, reflecting caution among investors following Powell's comments [9] - Asian stock markets closed higher, with China's Shanghai Composite Index up +0.83% and Japan's Nikkei 225 up +0.30% [11] Corporate News - Lanxess AG (LXS.D.DX) shares fell over -6% after Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy [10] - Firefly Aerospace (FLY) plunged more than -15% after reporting weaker-than-expected Q2 results [3]