Wall Street rises on AI bets ahead of Big Tech earnings and Fed decision

Wall Street advanced for a second consecutive session as renewed enthusiasm for artificial intelligence lifted American stock indexes. The Nasdaq led gains, rising 1.18 percent to 26,477 points, while the S&P 500 added 0.60 percent to 7,722 points and the Dow Jones edged up 0.03 percent to 52,377 points.

The rally was driven in part by the planned initial public offering of Anthropic, which revived investor interest in AI. Shares of semiconductor makers also benefited, with the PHLX Semiconductor Index jumping 3.5 percent.

“There are many open questions.”

Meta Platforms stood at the center of market activity after announcing a share issuance of 25 billion dollars that attracted demand five times the supply. The company also set terms for common and preferred shares worth 37.5 billion dollars and said it could raise an additional 60 billion dollars through a separate share sale program from 2027.

Meta's total potential financing plan thus reaches 97.5 billion dollars as the company seeks resources to expand its artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Three members of the Magnificent 7 group, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Amazon.com, are scheduled to report quarterly results this week. Their earnings will offer important signals about the direction of AI investments.

Central banks are also in focus this week. The Federal Reserve began its meeting in Washington and is expected to keep interest rates unchanged after raising them in September for the first time since 2023. The European Central Bank may signal a possible December rate increase on Thursday, while the Bank of Japan is expected to leave its rates unchanged the following day.