Meta's $95 Billion AI Fundraising and Anthropic's IPO Filing Lead Market News

Meta's stock-offering plans and Nvidia's $3 billion investment, plus Anthropic's IPO filing, headline a day in which the S&P 500 remains range-bound. Japan's Nikkei rose 1.78% and a Brazil ETF fell sharply.

Maz Vantage ·

Wall Street: AI financing and a quiet index

Artificial-intelligence funding dominated the US corporate news flow. Meta Platforms is looking to raise a total of $95 billion through stock-related deals running into early next year, including a $35 billion stock offering in which Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom could be buyers, according to MarketWatch. The Guardian reports the money is meant to cover Meta's AI spending, and notes that Elon Musk warned funding for smaller AI players is drying up. On Tuesday, Nvidia also said it plans to invest $3 billion in Meta as the two companies expand their partnership on the Muse family of AI models, RTTNews via Nasdaq reports.

Anthropic filed to list on the US stock market. Its prospectus runs to 355 pages (BBC) and gives the first audited look at the company's finances, describing what The Guardian calls explosive but very expensive growth, alongside more than 90 pages of risk factors. The filing also helped optical-component stocks: Lumentum led the S&P 500 higher on Monday as the group staged a comeback, per MarketWatch.

Elsewhere in US corporate news, Microsoft is reportedly offering buyouts to 60,000 employees as part of cost cuts linked to AI, The Guardian reports. The Wall Street Journal reported that DoorDash was in advanced talks to buy Instacart in a deal valuing it at roughly $17 billion, according to MarketWatch.

On index behaviour, a UBS team argues that options trading explains why the S&P 500 has barely moved since June (MarketWatch). Beneath the surface, dividend-focused ETFs are posting a strong October while the tech sector struggles (MarketWatch).

Politics and the US economy

With US midterm elections approaching, the BBC says the economy and prices are a central issue for President Trump, comparing his position to that of his predecessor (BBC). The Federal Reserve's recent releases in its press feed were mainly regulatory and administrative, including the minutes of the September 15-16 FOMC meeting published on 7 October (Federal Reserve).

Asia and emerging markets

Japan's Nikkei 225 closed up 1.78% on Tuesday, Investing.com reports. Among Japanese companies, Shin-Etsu Chemical's first-half profit rose 11% on AI chip demand (Investing.com), while Canon's third-quarter profit rose 10% but it trimmed full-year guidance because of further delays at its medical unit (Investing.com).

In Latin America, a Brazil ETF fell 20% on Monday and MercadoLibre dropped 8%, according to a Nasdaq/Motley Fool article. The feed excerpt does not give the cause of the move.

Europe and corporate results

The ECB's survey on companies' access to finance found that lending conditions tightened (ECB). On the corporate side, Alfa Laval reported record orders, helped by data-centre and shipping demand (Investing.com). Novartis said third-quarter profit fell sharply because of an impairment charge and higher expenses despite higher net sales, and raised its full-year core income view (RTTNews via Nasdaq). Orange raised its 2026 core earnings growth target after a third-quarter beat (Investing.com).

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