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• An AI server maker's stock pulled back from its recent rally Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, while strong results from a major carrier helped lift airline stocks.
• Shares of Dell Technologies gave back a portion of their gains in the previous session.
  
• Delta Air Lines topped quarterly estimates and raised its outlook, lifting shares of the air carrier and its rivals.

Shares of an AI server maker reversed some of their recent gains, while airline stocks climbed as strong premium and corporate travel sales helped a major carrier top quarterly estimates.

Major U.S. equities indexes moved lower Thursday as investors digested third-quarter earnings reports and the U.S. government shutdown continued. The S&P 500 fell 0.3%, and the Nasdaq slid 0.1%, pulling back from record levels. The Dow lost 0.5%. See here for more market coverage from Investopedia.

Dell Technologies (DELL) stock dropped 5.2% to lead losses on the S&P 500, giving back a portion of the 9% gain posted in the prior session after Dell raised its forecasts for annual revenue and profit growth. The company said its broad portfolio of tech products makes it well-positioned to benefit from demand for artificial intelligence.

Shares of homebuilders lost ground after Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, echoed criticism from President Trump accusing major residential construction firms of artificially inflating home prices. Shares of PulteGroup (PHM), the homebuilder founded by Pulte's grandfather, fell close to 5%, while shares of D.R. Horton (DHI) and other industry players also declined.

The record-setting rally for gold prices lost some of its luster Thursday, with futures prices falling below the $4,000-per-ounce milestone that the precious metal surpassed this week for the first time. Shares of Newmont (NEM), the world's largest gold miner, fell 3.6%.

Shares of Albemarle (ALB), the world's largest lithium producer, jumped 5.2%. Other mineral and rare earths stocks also surged after China announced additional restrictions on certain raw materials ahead of a meeting set for later this month between the country's leader Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump. TD Cowen analysts also boosted their price target on Albemarle stock, pointing to pricing improvements in the lithium market.

Delta Air Lines (DAL) stock rose over 4% after the air carrier posted record third-quarter revenue. Higher premium and corporate travel sales contributed to Delta's better-than-expected quarterly sales and profit results, and the airline lifted its full-year guidance. Shares of rivals United Airlines (UAL) and American Airlines (AAL) also moved higher.

PepsiCo's (PEP) third-quarter revenue and adjusted profit came in slightly ahead of analysts' estimates, and shares of the snack and soft drink giant advanced 4.2%. CEO Ramon Laguarta attributed the better-than-expected results to strength in the international business, momentum in North American beverage operations, and progress on revamping PepsiCo's portfolio. The Frito-Lay and Gatorade parent also named a new chief financial officer, with Walmart (WMT) executive Steve Schmitt set to assume the role next month.

• Housing prices and mortgage rates remain high, putting homeownership out of reach for many Gen Zers.
• Affording a down payment is one of the biggest hurdles to homeownership for this generation, since many must first pay rising rent prices and their student loan debt.
• Some Gen Zers are finding ways to enter the housing market, getting financial help from their families and buying homes in cheaper areas in the Midwest and South.

Housing prices continue to rise, and other expenses are cutting into Gen Zers' budgets, making it extremely hard for them to buy a home. But some have managed to do it, shopping in cheaper markets and getting help from family.

Mortgage rates have been elevated for years, and that's led to a stagnant market with low housing supply and high prices. In 2024, a little more than a quarter of Gen Zers were homeowners, according to a report by Redfin. That number has remained relatively flat since 2022.

Buying a home is the heart of the American Dream, and the fact that it’s out of reach for the bulk of an entire generation signals deeper structural issues with the U.S. economy. Homeownership is normally how Americans build wealth, so this hurts upward mobility. 

The biggest hurdle for many Gen Zers is saving enough money for a down payment.

The majority of Gen Z are unable to put 20% down on a typical-priced home. The median asking price for a home in the second quarter of 2025 was $346,700, according to the Census Bureau, which means a 20% standard down payment would be $69,340. Yet, only 4% of Gen Z renters said they have more than 50,000 saved, according to a survey by Insurify.

Even if they buy a cheaper starter home at $200,000 and put down the median down payment for a first-time homebuyer of just 9%, that would still require $18,000. And only around four in ten Gen Z renters have enough savings to make this down payment.

For many Gen Zers, the high cost of rent makes it particularly hard to save. The national median rent price in the second quarter of 2025 was $1,494, according to the Census Bureau. In 53 major U.S. cities, renters have to use more than the recommended threshold of 30% of their income to make rent payments, according to Zillow.

In addition, Gen Z has had to restart student loan payments after a hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic. And if they don't keep up their credit might be dinged, or worse, the government could garnish their wages. Many borrowers have had to cut their spending to afford their student debt, and 40% of Gen Zers surveyed by Insurify said their student loans make it harder to buy a home.

While the real estate market has been difficult for Gen Zers, some have found creative ways to achieve homeownership.

Many Gen Z homeowners have found success in more affordable markets in the Midwest and South, where the median home prices are cheaper than the national average, according to Cotality, a financial service company previously known as CoreLogic.

Three in 10 Gen Z homeowners said that this year they were able to afford a down payment using money earned from a second job, a number that has been rising in the past few years, according to a report from Bank of America.

Some rely on help from their family. One in five Gen Z and Millennials said they had financial assistance from their family to pay for a down payment, according to Redfin. In addition, more than 18% said they have been living with family or friends to save money to purchase a home.

• Market-cap weighted crypto indexes underpin funds that hold huge slugs of bitcoin and ether, but plans for new ones could expand beyond the biggest and well-known coins.
• The latest comes from S&P Global, which blends coins and cryptocurrency-linked stocks in one index.

Big-stock indexes helped draw Americans into the stock market in droves. Will crypto indexes do the same for digital currency?

A big name in the index business this week made the latest bid to do just that. S&P Global (SPGI), the shop behind the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, unveiled a crypto-specific blend, adding to its list of a couple dozen other crypto indexes. S&P Global's Digital Markets 50 Index will be made up of 15 tokens and shares of 35 companies involved in some aspect of crypto.

The company likely hopes fund shops will base products on the index—and the crypto industry hopes it and others like it will make investors more comfortable with new tokens and companies. Bitcoin (BTCUSD) and ether (ETHUSD) represent about 85% of the holdings of the Grayscale CoinDesk Crypto 5 ETF (GDLC), Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund (BITW), and Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index ETF (NCIQ).

More multi-asset crypto funds are starting to trickle into the market. The arrival of those funds speaks to how much the industry has grown, with companies including stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) and Winklevoss-twins founded crypto exchange Gemini (GEMI) arriving on major stock exchanges this year.

New funds will test investor appetites for lesser-known tokens. The Digital Markets 50 index's holdings aren't available yet, but it will draw from the 300-odd members of the S&P Cryptocurrency Broad Digital Market Index. Even if the new 50-coin index selected only the top 15 tokens from that market-cap weighted list, many investors would likely be learning about several for the first time.

There's bnb (BNBUSD), native token of international crypto exchange Binance, which can be used to pay transaction fees; Tronix (TRXUSD), the utility token of Justin Sun-founded Tron network; and hype (HYPEUSD), of Hyperliquid, a peer-to-peer exchange that has recently become a power player in crypto derivatives trading.

Benchmark indexes like the S&P 500 gives investors a sense of the biggest and most important companies driving the U.S. economy. Multi-asset indexes aim to do the same for the crypto industry.

The SEC has historically approved spot crypto ETFs on a piecemeal basis. Explicit approval had only been granted for bitcoin and ethereum until last month, when the regulator adopted generic listing standards. That change is set to unleash a wave of new crypto funds, including more multi-asset ones, though, the government shutdown has put a pause on things.

The Grayscale CoinDesk Crypto 5, which tracks an index with smaller weightings in Ripple's xrp, solana, and cardano, recently converted from an LLC. The Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index ETF, which prior to last month only held bitcoin and ether, counts those coins as constituents, as well as the native token of the Stellar network, lumens (XLMUSD). The Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund, a trust waiting for ETF-conversion approval, also holds Chainlink (LINKUSD), and Avalanche (AVAX) tokens, as well as other altcoins.

Bitcoin and ether have a combined market capitalization of almost $3 trillion, roughly 70% of the $4.4 trillion market, according to research platform Messari.

• Major U.S. equities indexes pulled back Thursday after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq set fresh all-time highs.
• Delta Air Lines shares jumped after the carrier posted quarterly earnings that topped analysts' estimates.
• Tesla shares slid after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into the electric vehicle maker's Full Self-Driving software.

Major U.S. equities indexes pulled back Thursday after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq set fresh all-time highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all were lower at midday.

Delta Air Lines (DAL) stock surged after the Atlanta-based carrier's quarterly results topped analysts' estimates and it issued a rosy outlook. Shares of rival United Airlines (UAL) were also higher.

PepsiCo (PEP) shares advanced after the snacks and beverages giant posted slightly better-than-expected results and named a new CFO.

Akero Therapeutics (AKRO) shares popped after Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk (NVO) announced it is buying the firm working on a liver disease treatment for up to $5.2 billion. U.S.-listed shares of Novo Nordisk slipped.

Ferrari (RACE) shares sank after the Italian luxury carmaker issued a soft outlook.

Tesla (TSLA) stock slid after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into the electric vehicle maker's Full Self-Driving software.

Boeing (BA) was the worst-performing stock in the Dow after Turkish Airlines' chair said the carrier might switch a recent order for 150 737 MAX planes to Airbus if engine talks fail.

Gold prices retreated from their record highs. Oil futures and the price of Bitcoin also fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note ticked higher. The U.S. dollar rose against the euro, pound, and yen.

• Delta Air Lines’ third-quarter results blew past analysts' estimates, and the carrier raised its full-year outlook.
• Delta’s results, the first by a major airline this earnings season, drove its shares as well as those of rivals United Airlines and American Airlines higher Thursday.

Delta Air Lines (DAL) reported record third-quarter revenue and issued a rosy outlook, driven by higher premium and corporate travel sales.

The air carrier's stock jumped over 6% following the news, making it one of the S&P 500's best-performing stocks Thursday. Shares of rivals United Airlines (UAL) and American Airlines (AAL) also rose.

Delta posted adjusted earnings per share of $1.71 on revenue that rose 6% year-over-year to $16.67 billion, above analysts' estimates compiled by Visible Alpha, as premium and business travel sales surged. Delta said its corporate sales rose 8% from a year earlier, while premium revenue gained 9%.

Looking ahead, Delta said it sees adjusted EPS of $1.60 to $1.90 for the fourth quarter, with the midpoint well above analysts’ consensus. Its projection for full-year EPS improved to approximately $6, compared to $5.25 to $6.25 previously.

Delta's strong results and outlook bode well for the airlines sector, and especially United Airlines, another carrier with a strong premium offering.

The results are the first in the airline sector this earnings season and show how premium carriers that rely more on international and first-class tickets—such as Delta and United Airlines—are flourishing.

In an interview with CNBC, Delta CEO Ed Bastian said the carrier’s operations are running smoothly despite the federal government shutdown, though he noted there could be an impact if it extends beyond the next 10 days.

• PepsiCo posted quarterly earnings ahead of estimates and announced a new chief financial officer Thursday.
• The beverage maker said Steve Schmitt, chief financial officer for Walmart's U.S. unit, will take over as CFO from Jamie Caulfield effective Nov. 10.

PepsiCo (PEP) posted quarterly earnings slightly ahead of analysts' expectations and announced a new chief financial officer Thursday.

The maker of Pepsi soda and Doritos chips posted adjusted earnings per share of $2.29 on revenue that rose 2.7% year-over-year to $23.94 billion for the third quarter. Both figures topped analysts' projections compiled by Visible Alpha, thanks in part to strength in the snack giant's international business and improvements in its North American beverage operations.

PepsiCo also said that Steve Schmitt, chief financial officer for Walmart's (WMT) U.S. unit, will take over as chief financial officer from Jamie Caulfield effective Nov. 10. Caulfield decided to retire next year after more than 30 years with the company, PepsiCo said. He became CFO in December 2023.

The management shift comes as activist investor Elliott Investment Management, which has taken a $4 billion stake in the company, called for changes to boost PepsiCo's lagging stock price.

The move by PepsiCo, which has been under pressure from activist investors to make operational and strategic changes, could help boost confidence in its path forward.

“Our reported net revenue growth accelerated and reflects the resilience of our international business, improved momentum within North America Beverages and the benefits of our portfolio reshaping actions,” CEO Ramon Laguarta said Thursday. “As we look ahead to the balance of this year and beyond, our top priorities are to accelerate growth and aggressively optimize our cost structure."

For the year, PepsiCo said it was maintaining its forecast of a low single-digit increase in organic revenue, and expects earnings to be flat from last year.

PepsiCo shares, which entered Thursday down almost 9% for 2025, were up 3% in recent trading.

This article has been updated since it was first published to reflect more recent stock prices.

News of the day for Oct. 9, 2025

Stock futures are little changed this morning after major indexes hit fresh highs on Wednesday; gold futures are hovering near a record high as investors continue to seek safe haven assets; China is tightening its rare-earth mineral export controls; Delta Air Lines (DAL) stock is rising on better-than-expected results; and PepsiCo (PEP) shares are ticking higher after the company reported strong earnings and named a new chief financial officer. Here's what you need to know today.

Stock futures are little changed after the benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-focused Nasdaq both hit new record highs yesterday. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were bouncing between fractional gains and losses this morning. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which affects borrowing costs on an array of loans, was holding steady at 4.13%, while the U.S. dollar index was also flat.

Gold futures continued to hover near record highs as investors seek safe haven assets. Gold futures were trading at around $4,060 an ounce recently, after moving as high as $4,072 on Wednesday. Investors use the precious metal as a hedge against inflation, geopolitical uncertainty and stock market volatility. Gold has gained about 54% this year, more than most stocks in the S&P 500. Investors have also turned to bitcoin (BTCUSD) as a safe haven asset. The cryptocurrency was trading at just under $123,000 recently, after hitting a record high of more than $126,000 earlier this week.

China has tightened its export controls over rare-earth minerals and related technologies. Similar restrictions have sparked tariff warnings from President Donald Trump. China controls much of the world's supply of rare-earth minerals such as neodymium and terbium, which are used in the manufacture of electric cars, drones, and advanced electronics. The announcement from China’s Ministry of Commerce also restricted the participation of Chinese nationals from working on rare earth mining projects in other countries. The move comes amid discussions about Trump possibly meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on trade issues. The Trump administration this year has taken equity stakes in companies mining strategically significant elements, including MP Materials (MP) and Lithium Americas (LAC) , and is reportedly in talks with USA Rare Earth (USAR). Shares of USA Rare Earth were up about 7% in recent premarket trading, while MP Materials and Lithium Americas each gained about 4%.

Delta Air Lines (DAL) shares rose more than 6% before the opening bell after the air carrier reported better-than-expected earnings. Delta reported quarterly revenue of $16.7 billion, above estimates of $16.07 billion projected by analysts tracked by Visible Alpha. The company also reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.71, ahead of the consensus of $1.53. Coming into today's session, Delta shares had lost about 6% of their value so far this year.

PepsiCo (PEP) also reported quarterly results that topped Wall Street expectations. PepsiCo reported third-quarter revenue of $23.94 billion, above the estimate of $23.86 billion compiled by Visible Alpha. PepsiCo’s core earnings per share of $2.29 also came in over analysts' consensus of $2.27. PepsiCo also announced that its Chief Financial Officer Jamie Caulfield would retire, with Steve Schmitt named to take the position. PepsiCo shares were up 0.5% in recent premarket trading.

• Gold crossed the closely watched $4,000/oz level this week for the for first time ever, as investors pile into the precious metal amid a rush to safety.
• After breaking out from a narrow trading range in early September, the commodity's price has continued to trend sharply higher with only several minor retracements since that time.
• The measured move technique projects a potential bullish price target of $4,160. Investors should watch critical support levels on gold's chart around $3,700, $3,450 and $3,250.
  

Gold (XAUUSD) has continued shining brightly this week, crossing above the closely watched $4,000/oz level for the for first time ever.

Recent buying of the precious metal has been fueled by investor anxiety about the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, economic uncertainty, and expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this month.

Spot gold prices, which were little changed at around $4,035 per ounce in recent trading, have surged 54% since the start of the year, with broader gains supported by central bank buying, a loss of confidence in the U.S. dollar and a range of geopolitical issues.

Below, we break down the technicals on gold’s chart and point out critical price levels worth watching out for.

After breaking out from a narrow trading range in early September, gold’s price has continued to trend sharply higher with only several minor retracements since that time.

The rally has coincided with the relative strength index remaining embedded in overbought territory to confirm bullish price momentum. However, the indicator recently climbed above 85, signaling extremely stretched conditions in the commodity that could lead to near-term profit-taking dips.

The average directional index indicator, which measures the strength of an asset’s trend, sits over 50, highlighting gold’s strong uptrend.

Let’s use technical analysis to forecast a potential bullish target worth watching and also identify critical support levels to monitor during retracements.

Investors can project a bullish target in the yellow metal by using the measured move technique, also known by chart watchers as the measuring principle.

When applying the study to gold’s chart, we calculate the commodity's strong uptrend from February to April in dollars and add that amount to the recent trading range’s top trendline. This forecasts a target of $4,160 ($710 + $3,450), implying 3% upside from current trading levels. 

We selected this earlier move as it also followed a narrow rangebound phase, providing clues as to how high gold’s price may go if a similar trend replicates.

An initial pullback could see the precious metal test the $3,700 level. This location may provide support near the top of a brief consolidation period on the chart in early to mid-September.

Bullion bulls’ failure to defend this critical level may trigger a fall to around $3,450. Investors could look to accumulate in this region near last month’s trading range breakout point, which may flip from an area of prior resistance to future support.

A more-significant drop could see gold revisit lower support near $3,250, currently just above the rising 200-day moving average. The commodity would likely attract buying interest at this level near multiple troughs on the chart between May and July that form the trading range’s lower trendline.

The comments, opinions, and analyses expressed on Investopedia are for informational purposes only. Read our warranty and liability disclaimer for more info.

As of the date this article was written, the author does not own any of the above securities.

• Recent deals from the likes of Nvidia and OpenAI have raised eyebrows on Wall Street and drawn comparisons to the vendor financing arrangements that fueled the Dotcom bubble of the late 1990s.
• Experts note these deals account for a relatively small share of AI investment, which, unlike during the Dotcom bubble, has mostly been funded by extremely profitable tech businesses.
• Some warn of early bubble warning signs, including big tech's increasing reliance on debt and an IPO frenzy.

A spate of unusual deals within the AI ecosystem has recently fueled concern that the AI boom is actually an AI bubble, but some professional market watchers say this isn't 1999—at least not yet.

OpenAI has vowed to spend hundreds of billions on Nvidia (NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) chips; in exchange, Nvidia will invest in OpenAI, and OpenAI will invest in AMD. Nvidia has invested in cloud providers Nebius (NBIS) and CoreWeave (CRWV), both of which buy its chips, and agreed with the latter to buy all of its unused computing capacity through 2032. These deals are just a few threads in a growing web of entanglements connecting chipmakers, cloud providers and AI model makers. 

Artificial intelligence excitement has been the main driver of stock market returns for the past three years, increasing the weight of big tech stocks in most portfolios. Until companies can demonstrate AI is contributing to the bottom line, the AI rally will depend on investors remaining optimistic about future returns.

Skeptics warn these circular deals are evidence of an artificial intelligence bubble forming. They argue that Nvidia, through investments in the companies buying and renting its chips, is subsidizing the AI build-out, and artificially overstating the strength of AI demand in the process. 

But many on Wall Street disagree, including analysts at Bank of America and Goldman Sachs, who cast doubt on the bubble narrative in notes published Wednesday. 

“We believe the recent concerns re AI financing are highly overstated,” wrote BofA semiconductor equity analyst Vivek Arya, who doesn’t expect circular deals to account for more than 5% to 10% of the $5 trillion that is likely to be spent on AI by 2030.

Though, it’s worth noting that by BofA’s calculation, OpenAI will have to spend between $500 and $600 billion on infrastructure as part of its Nvidia deal alone; add in its commitments to AMD and Oracle (ORCL), and the startup has agreed to spend about $1 trillion on cloud computing in the coming years.

OpenAI’s centrality to the recent spate of deals has concerned some onlookers. The ChatGPT maker recently became the world’s most valuable startup, valued at $500 billion, and is in the process of becoming a for-profit company. Still, it anticipates burning through $115 billion on the road to profitability, which isn’t expected to happen until the end of this decade at the earliest.

However, Arya notes that OpenAI, while a big player in the AI boom, is “only one of multiple (5-10) ecosystems including the four large US hyperscalers, Tesla/xAI, multiple sovereign buildouts (Middle East, Asia), 100+ neoclouds that do not require or have disclosed minimal vendor financing.” 

Skeptics have repeatedly pointed to the stock prices of the Magnificent Seven—Nvidia, Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOG), Amazon (AMZN), Meta (META), and Tesla (TSLA)—as evidence of a burgeoning bubble. The ten largest companies in the U.S., including all of the Mag 7, cumulatively account for a quarter of global equity market value. 

“This degree of concentration is, in our view, unsustainable,” wrote Goldman Sachs analysts in a note on Wednesday, “but this is not the same as saying that we are experiencing a bubble.” 

Goldman identifies three common components of financial bubbles: “rapidly rising asset prices, extreme valuations and rising significant systemic risks driven by increased leverage.” While the Mag 7 stocks have soared over the past three years, Goldman notes that their valuations remain modest compared with the lead up to the Dotcom bubble, in part because their stock prices reflect “powerful and sustained profit growth rather than excessive speculation about the future.” 

Another difference between then and now is that the companies fueling the AI boom with their spending have unusually strong balance sheets, cash flows and hugely profitable businesses not tied to AI. That has allowed them to fund their buildouts with existing revenue streams rather than equity and debt, which reduces the risk that a sudden shock to the AI ecosystem halts AI investment, forces a sharp revaluation of related assets, and ripples through the broader economy. 

Though, Goldman concedes that, while we’re not currently in a bubble, a few developing trends suggest we’re headed there. Big tech’s debt issuance picked up this year as cash reserves dwindled, suggesting systemic risk may be increasing. 

More companies have gone public to cash in on the AI frenzy, and investors have eaten the new offerings up. “The starting day premiums for new issues has reached an average of 30% in the US,” the highest since the Dotcom bubble, according to Goldman. 

Some traders will get a break on Monday. Just not the ones who deal in stocks.

U.S. bond markets will close Monday, Oct. 13, in observance of Columbus Day, which in some places is observed as Indigenous Peoples Day. Stock markets, meanwhile, are set to remain open.

Bond markets will close again on Tuesday, Nov. 11, for Veterans Day. As for the rest of the holiday trading schedule:

• Stock and bond markets will close Thursday, Nov. 27, for Thanksgiving; bond markets will close the following day at 2 p.m., while stock markets will close at 1 p.m.
• They will both also close Thursday, Dec. 25, for Christmas; bond markets will close at 2 p.m. the previous day, while stock markets will close at 1 p.m.
• And they will close Thursday, Jan. 1, for New Year's Day; bond markets will close at 2 p.m. the previous day.