On Monday, all three major U.S. stock indices closed lower, with technology shares leading the decline. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed 7 basis points to 5.23%, marking its highest level in nearly twenty years. International oil prices swung violently on news surrounding U.S.-Iran negotiations and Middle East developments. Spot gold dropped nearly 4%.

In U.S. equities, at the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 347.11 points, or 0.67%, to 51,481.51; the S&P 500 lost 59.72 points, or 0.77%, to 7,683.69; and the Nasdaq Composite declined 248.34 points, or 0.92%, to 26,820.38. MongoDB (MDB.US) sank more than 18% for its worst single-day performance since March. Qualcomm (QCOM.US) dropped over 7%, while SK Hynix (SKHY.US) and Intel (INTC.US) each fell more than 5%. Nvidia (NVDA.US) gained more than 1%.

In European markets, Germany's DAX 30 slipped 34.22 points, or 0.13%, to 25,374.42; the UK's FTSE 100 fell 10.37 points, or 0.10%, to 10,684.88; France's CAC 40 added 0.68 points, or 0.01%, to 8,078.48; the Euro Stoxx 50 rose 6.53 points, or 0.10%, to 6,309.35; Spain's IBEX 35 lost 99.80 points, or 0.51%, to 19,600.30; and Italy's FTSE MIB declined 107.03 points, or 0.21%, to 51,759.90.

Across Asia-Pacific, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.73%, South Korea's KOSPI dropped 2.70%, India's BSE SENSEX declined 1.52%, and Indonesia's composite index lost 1.51%.

In foreign exchange, the U.S. dollar index (DXY), which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, rose 0.14% to 101.17.

In cryptocurrencies, digital assets declined. Bitcoin fell more than 1% to $83,190, while Ethereum slipped 0.12% to $2,673.09.

In precious metals, at the close of New York trading on Monday (September 28), spot gold dropped 4.01% to $4,112.84 per ounce, while spot silver fell 5.68% to $60.6452 per ounce.

In crude oil, WTI November futures settled up 0.20% at $92.60 per barrel, and Brent November futures settled up 0.92% at $105.28 per barrel. Prices whipsawed between multiple breaking headlines: Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline resuming exports pushed prices lower, rumors of an explosion in a Saudi city lifted them, a report that Iran agreed to suspend uranium enrichment weighed on prices again, and news of major分歧 in U.S.-Iran talks spurred a rebound.

In metals, LME copper fell $210 to $14,413 per tonne. LME aluminum lost $16 to $3,252 per tonne. LME zinc dropped $47 to $3,852 per tonne. LME lead declined $27 to $1,902 per tonne. LME nickel fell $150 to $16,179 per tonne. LME tin dropped $47 to $3,852 per tonne. LME cobalt declined $500 to $39,140 per tonne.

On the macroeconomic front, President Trump said U.S. and Iranian representatives had exchanged messages through mediators, while U.S. media reported positive signals from the nuclear talks. Speaking to reporters at the White House on the 28th, Trump said the two sides' negotiators had exchanged information via intermediaries. Asked about the progress of the talks, Trump did not disclose details, saying only "we will win" and "things will become clear soon." Earlier that day, media reported that indirect U.S.-Iran talks had begun on the morning of the 28th. Iranian media had previously said Foreign Minister Araghchi would lead a delegation to meet mediators in New York on the morning of the 28th to discuss the latest proposals on the current situation. Notably, U.S. media cited American officials as saying Trump was willing to ease sanctions on Iran and release frozen Iranian funds in exchange for "concrete progress" on the nuclear deal. Saudi media reported that Iran had agreed to suspend uranium enrichment in return for looser U.S. sanctions. Trump later denied the U.S. media report.

The two-year Treasury yield pushed toward the 5% mark, while the 10-year yield hit its highest since 2007. At the close of New York trading on Monday (September 28), the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose 7.56 basis points to 5.2361%, trading between 5.1899% and 5.2719% intraday, steadily extending gains and approaching the second-quarter 2007 high of 5.3228% around 11:00 p.m. Beijing time. The two-year yield rose 7.89 basis points to 4.9305%, trading between 4.8869% and 4.9534% intraday, also climbing steadily and nearing the intraday high of 5.0434% seen on April 30, 2024. The 20-year yield rose 5.31 basis points to 5.6011%, at one point reaching 5.6436%, continuing to set a record high since data began in 2020; the 30-year yield rose 5.61 basis points to 5.5466%, at one point hitting 5.5794%, inching closer to the third-quarter 2009 peak of 5.8610%.

"Big Short" investor Michael Burry said the AI bubble may burst sooner than initially thought. The investor, known for his massive short against the U.S. housing market before the 2007-2009 global financial crisis, said he is converting key AI short positions into put options to gain more cost-effective leverage over a shorter time horizon. "Fundamentally, I am moving up the timeline," Burry wrote in his Monday investment newsletter. "So, I want the short positions to have more leverage. A better timeline makes leverage more acceptable. And when it comes to leverage, nothing beats options—in this case, puts—which are relatively cheap because volatility measures like the VIX are unusually tight."

Federal Reserve Governor Cook said AI-driven productivity gains are not enough to offset near-term inflation pressures. Cook said the productivity gains that artificial intelligence (AI) may bring in the future may not be sufficient to offset recent price pressures, warning the trend could push up inflation across the economy. The Fed official said large-scale data center investment has already intensified competition for shared resources such as energy and construction workers—over the past year, electricity and water prices have each risen about 5%. She warned that broader price pressures could emerge, given that companies have fulfilled only a small portion of their $2 trillion in pledged capital and that the AI-driven stock rally has boosted consumer spending. Cook expects productivity gains to deliver "modest disinflation" over the coming years, but warned she does not believe those effects will arrive in time to offset broadening inflation pressures later this year. Cook said the Fed's rate hike this month was in response to persistently elevated inflation, stressing that future policy will depend on economic data. Cook also said the labor market appears ready for rate hikes. She noted the unemployment rate is trending down and other indicators suggest the labor market is "roughly in balance and gradually improving."

Deutsche Bank said a supply shortage could drive copper prices up more than 50% within six months. The bank expects copper to rise over 50% to $22,050 per tonne in the next six months as buyers compete for dwindling inventories. Copper prices have already surged this year, with expectations that the U.S. government may impose tariffs on refined copper driving large volumes into the United States and tightening supply elsewhere. "An unprecedented metal scramble is unfolding across copper trading markets," Daniel Ghali, head of metals research at Deutsche Bank, wrote in a report. "As markets race to keep copper within their own jurisdictions, we expect the global benchmark copper price to keep rising." Deutsche Bank expects copper to climb to $22,050 per tonne by the second quarter of 2027, when demand destruction may begin to accelerate. Ghali wrote that if the current pace of inventory accumulation continues, unrestricted, freely tradable inventories will approach zero by the end of 2028. This theoretical "inventory exhaustion" level is something the market must avoid through higher prices. Ghali said Deutsche Bank estimates that freely tradable copper inventories have already fallen to a record low.

In company news, SpaceX (SPCX.US) reached a major milestone as Starship entered orbit for the first time, though the mission ended early after deploying 26 V3 Starlink satellites. SpaceX's flagship Starship rocket successfully reached Earth orbit on Monday for the first time, completing the commercial space company's most ambitious mission to date. That marks a key step for the giant rocket—more than $15 billion in cost and nearly a decade in development—from suborbital testing to orbital flight. Although one engine shut down early during the flight, the spacecraft continued a key burn maneuver after engineers assessed the situation in real time and successfully entered its intended orbit. The mission had been planned to last about 10 hours and circle Earth six times, but SpaceX ultimately decided to end the flight early. The flight team expected to command Starship to deorbit three hours after reaching orbit. While in orbit, Starship also deployed 26 V3 Starlink satellites for the first time. Musk posted on X that the V3 satellites are operating normally. Each V3 Starlink satellite has about 10 times the download capacity of the current V2 satellites.

AMD (AMD.US) is acquiring World Labs for $8.2 billion, with Fei-Fei Li to become chief scientist. AMD is betting on the next frontier of AI—understanding and simulating the physical world—with a blockbuster all-stock deal. On September 28, AMD announced it would acquire AI startup World Labs in an all-stock transaction valued at about $8.2 billion. The company, co-founded and led by renowned AI research pioneer Fei-Fei Li, focuses on spatial intelligence and three-dimensional environment simulation. After the deal closes, Li will join AMD as executive vice president and chief scientist, reporting directly to CEO Lisa Su. The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of 2026, subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions. The deal signals AMD's intent to internalize model research capabilities as a driver of chip design and compete head-on with Nvidia in physical AI areas such as robotics and simulation.

MongoDB (MDB.US) fell more than 18%, its worst single-day performance since March. MongoDB closed down 18.46% at $334.68 on Monday. The move followed news that CEO Chirantan "CJ" Desai abruptly resigned to lead Meta Platforms' (META.US) newly created enterprise platform business. MongoDB's board appointed Dev Ittycheria as interim president and CEO. The board has begun a formal search for a successor and hired an executive search firm to assist.

Navitas Semiconductor (NVTS.US) won a U.S. government contract, sending its shares sharply higher after hours. As of press time, Navitas Semiconductor surged more than 16% in Monday's after-hours U.S. trading. The company said it has received the ALATTIS project awarded by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory to develop next-generation 10 kV silicon carbide power semiconductor technology for defense applications. ALATTIS stands for Accelerated Large-Area 10 kV SiC Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor Prototype Project. The project aims to develop a domestic manufacturing process for 10 kV silicon carbide insulated gate bipolar transistors and PIN diodes. The project is funded by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory under the DEVCOM framework and supported by JETX. The announcement did not disclose details such as the contract value, duration, or work location.