The Mid-Day Buzz
September 3rd, 2025
Tech Leads Market Rebound as September Trading Begins
Equity markets are attempting to recover after a cautious start to September, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the way. Investor sentiment was lifted by a favorable U.S. antitrust ruling for Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet, allowing the company to maintain its Chrome business and continue revenue-sharing deals, including the estimated $20 billion annual payment to Apple for making Google the default search engine on iPhones. The ruling removed a major regulatory overhang, sparking an 8% rally in Alphabet shares, with Apple also trading higher.
Today’s report that Macy’s raised its annual outlook and posted its strongest sales growth in three years highlights resilient consumer spending despite inflation and tariff concerns. As markets digest recent gains, maintaining investment discipline and setting realistic expectations will be key during the fall transition.
Economic Takeaways:
- Historically, September and October bring higher volatility and softer returns.
- The Treasury curve steepened and the U.S. 30-year yield touched 5% today.
- 30-year yields in the U.K., Germany, France, and Japan have reached decade highs amid elevated public spending and fiscal pressures.
- As of this morning, there was a nearly 92% chance of a September Federal Reserve rate cut, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
- The Russell 2000®Index (RUT) of smaller stocks outpaced other major indexes with a nearly 7% rise in August as rate cut odds supported a move into smaller names.
- Crude oil futures (/CL) fell more than 2% on speculation that OPEC may increase output following this weekend’s meeting.
- The S&P 500 dipped to three-week lows near 6,360 Tuesday but recovered most of the losses by the close, testing the key 20-day moving average at 6,421 as “buy the dip” trading returned.
U.S. Job Openings Sink to 10-Month Low as Labor Market Cools
U.S. job openings fell to a 10-month low in July, with more unemployed people than available positions for the first time since the pandemic — a sign of easing labor market conditions that bolsters expectations the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates this month.
The Labor Department reported 7.18 million unfilled jobs at the end of July, down 176,000 from June and more than 300,000 over two months. There were just 0.99 openings for every unemployed person, the first time the ratio has dipped below 1.0 since April 2021. Healthcare, retail, and arts and entertainment led the declines in vacancies, while construction, manufacturing, and federal hiring posted gains.
Hiring remained tepid, rising by only 41,000 to 5.31 million, with the hires rate steady at 3.3%. Layoffs edged up to 1.81 million but stayed low overall. Economists expect August payrolls to rise by about 75,000 jobs and the jobless rate to tick up to 4.3%.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell has signaled a possible rate cut at the September 16-17 meeting but said inflation remains a concern. Some economists argue the drop in openings is concentrated in a few sectors, and the quits rate holding at 2% suggests workers still feel reasonably secure in their jobs.
On the Move
- Apple (AAPL) surged nearly 4% in pre-market trading after a court ruled in favor of Alphabet. The decision allows Apple to continue preloading Google Search on iPhones, a revenue stream worth roughly $20 billion annually. Concerns about losing this income had weighed on Apple shares earlier this year.
- The “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks flagged Tuesday, with the semiconductor sector falling 1.5% and other tech shares also under pressure. Cloud computing firm CoreWeave (CRWV) posted double-digit losses following insider sales after its IPO, according to Barron’s.
- Kraft Heinz (KHC) dropped nearly 7% as it announced plans to split into two companies, a move NPR humorously described as “separating hot dogs from ketchup.” Shares are down roughly 70% since the 2015 merger.
- Other tech names facing sharp declines included ASML, Super Micro Computer (SMCI), and Nvidia (NVDA), though Nvidia recovered from intraday lows. Palantir (PLTR) rebounded to finish positive but remains down sharply over the past month.
- Salesforce (CRM) fell 1.3% ahead of today’s earnings but ticked higher this morning. The company recently cut 4,000 customer support positions after deploying AI agents to handle more tasks. Analysts expect earnings of $2.78 per share, with subscription growth a key metric to watch.
- Cytokinetics (CYTK) jumped 40% after positive trial data for its experimental heart drug aficamten was unveiled at a European conference.
- Constellation Brands (STZ) slipped another 0.5% following a 6.6% loss yesterday, lowering earnings guidance due to weak beer demand. Figma (FIG) climbed nearly 2% ahead of its first post-IPO earnings report.
- Tesla (TSLA) fell over 1% Tuesday on weak international sales but rebounded 1.6% today. Bloomberg reports demand in India has been soft since Tesla’s mid-July launch. Lucid (LCID) dropped double digits after completing its one-for-10 reverse stock split.
- Bitcoin futures rebounded from recent lows, with Strategy (MSTR) rising alongside the cryptocurrency. Circle Internet Group (CRCL) plunged nearly 9% Tuesday, down about 27% over the last month.
- Auto stocks Ford (F) and General Motors (GM) edged lower as investors awaited U.S. August vehicle sales data. Macy’s (M) jumped 12% pre-market after beating earnings and revenue forecasts and issuing strong 2026 revenue guidance. Dollar Tree (DLTR) fell 5% despite beating earnings, weighed down by a cautious quarterly outlook.
What’s Ahead
Salesforce (CRM) later today will be among the last major firms to report results in a solid earnings season for Wall Street.
Investors will be closely watching Friday’s jobs report for signs of labor-market cooling, with consensus forecasts calling for 75,000 new August payrolls—a fourth consecutive month of sub-100,000 growth—and a slight rise in unemployment to 4.3%. A soft report could reinforce expectations for a Fed rate cut.
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