[New York Stock Market] Mixed as AI Investment Concerns Add to CPI Woes

AI-Related Stocks Fall

Amid concerns about excessive investment by artificial intelligence (AI) companies and mounting inflationary pressure in the United States, Wall Street's three major indexes were mixed on October 15 (local time).

As of 9:50 a.m. in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading at 51,810.02, up 188.54 points (0.32%) from the previous session. The large-cap S&P 500 was down 37.72 points (0.49%) at 7,681.22, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down 315.57 points (1.17%) at 26,363.15.

Investor sentiment appeared to weaken as the market grew concerned about the debt burden facing AI infrastructure companies. CoreWeave shares were down 8.15%. They had plunged more than 15% the previous day amid mounting concerns that the company was borrowing excessively to fund AI infrastructure investment, while its corporate bond yields also rose sharply.

AI chip stocks were also weak. Sandisk was down 7.36%. Losses were particularly steep for Micron Technology, down 4.54%; AMD, down 4.96%; and SK hynix ADR, down 4.89%.

Concerns about Anthropic's revenue growth also weighed on AI-related stocks. CNBC reported, citing sources, that Anthropic's third-quarter revenue had increased to $16.8 billion. Some investors also questioned whether this level of revenue and pace of growth were enough to justify the steep gains in semiconductor stocks.

Inflation data also dampened investor sentiment. The Producer Price Index (PPI) rose 1.3% from the previous month and 6.3% from a year earlier in September. Both the monthly and annual increases were the largest since 2022 and exceeded economists' forecasts compiled by Dow Jones of 0.6% and 5.5%, respectively.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for September, released the previous day, also showed a year-over-year increase that was higher than market expectations. Persistent inflationary pressure is weighing on stocks amid concerns that the Federal Reserve (Fed) could pursue a tighter monetary policy through the end of the year.

David Russell, head of global market strategy at TradeStation, said, "Following yesterday's CPI, today's PPI also shows that inflation is worsening while energy prices remain elevated. Inflation is rising regardless of the election, and the Fed may have to respond."

By contrast, stocks outside the technology sector advanced. Walmart shares rose 4%, while pharmaceutical company Merck gained more than 3%, supporting the Dow's gains.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.