October 9th Pre-Market Brief

Good Morning

Futures are green after two rough days, and the AI names that sold off yesterday are leading the bounce.

Oil eased after Trump said no Iran strikes before the midterms, which helps on the inflation front. I’m glad to see it. I just want it to hold past lunch.

Let's dig in...

Today's Big Picture

1. Tech Is Bouncing, but AI Buyers Are Getting Picky

OpenAI told investors it brings in $50 billion a year, below last month’s $68 billion figure that counted partner sales. Chip stocks like Broadcom are bouncing premarket after Bloomberg reported OpenAI expects $70 billion by year-end. Overnight, Nvidia-backed Australian data center company Firmus pulled a $5 billion IPO because investors balked at the price.

2. SpaceX Bought T-Mobile’s Old Airwaves

Late Thursday, SpaceX $SPCX agreed to buy nationwide cell airwaves that T-Mobile sold off in August. It gives Starlink a path to becoming a phone carrier, so T-Mobile $TMUS, AT&T $T and Verizon $VZ are down hard premarket. The service doesn’t exist yet, and tower owners like Crown Castle $CCI are up because SpaceX will need their towers to run it.

3. Bond Yields Hold Below the 24-Year High

Buyers showed up for Thursday’s 30-year Treasury sale, and oil fell after Trump said no Iran strikes before the midterms. That has the 10-year yield, which drives mortgage rates, holding below Wednesday’s 24-year high. Trump’s pledge only runs to Nov. 3, and Saudi Arabia is promising a response to Thursday’s Houthi attack on Riyadh’s airport.

Market Overview

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Stock Spotlight (pre-market)

Delta Air Lines $DAL ( ▼ 2.42% )  
lower premarket after its first earnings miss in two years. Fuel cost $500 million more than planned, so the airline cut its 2026 profit forecast to $5.10 to $5.60 a share from $6.50 to $7.50.

Humana $HUM ( ▼ 2.37% )  
sharply higher premarket after Medicare raised the 2027 quality rating on the health insurer’s biggest private Medicare plan. Better ratings bring bigger government bonus payments, and rival Alignment Healthcare $ALHC ( ▲ 1.87% ) fell hard on the same release.

Apple $AAPL ( ▲ 1.11% )  
lower premarket after Nikkei Asia reported it cut October parts orders for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max on soft demand. Rising memory chip costs have pushed phone prices up, and buyers are pulling back.

Lumentum $LITE ( ▼ 5.62% )  
higher premarket after CEO Michael Hurlston said its optical parts are sold out through 2029. The company makes networking parts for AI data centers and says it will struggle to meet demand for some products next year.

Cboe Global Markets $CBOE ( ▲ 1.66% )  
higher premarket after Morgan Stanley flipped from bearish to bullish on the options exchange operator and raised its target to $358 from $258. The bank cited Cboe’s exclusive right to list S&P 500 options through 2051 and its new prediction markets product.

Freeport-McMoRan $FCX ( ▼ 1.0% )  
higher premarket as gold heads for its first weekly gain in three weeks, a boost for the copper and gold miner. European copper miners are up too, on worries that strikes at several big mines will squeeze supply.

What to Watch

Consumer Inflation Expectations (10:00 AM ET)
The University of Michigan survey asks households where they expect prices to be a year from now. Last month’s answer was more than double the Fed’s target. Markets expect the Fed to hold on Oct. 28 and hike in December. A higher reading could put October back in play.

Iran’s Reply Over a Long Bond Weekend (Next Few Days)
Iran says it will answer a U.S. proposal within days, and the bond market is closed Monday for Columbus Day. A weekend reply hits stocks and oil first, with no Treasury trading to react. Airlines and energy stocks have the most riding on the answer.

Want to Know about this years upcoming IPO’s?
MarketBeat did an excellent job on this free IPO guide on IPO’s happening this year

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