Wall Street returned from the Labor Day weekend with a sharp split inside the market: energy and AI hardware rose while software, healthcare and the Dow fell hard.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 620 points, or 1.2%, to roughly 52,787. The S&P 500 lost 0.58% to 7,673.94, and the Nasdaq Composite declined about 0.3% to roughly 26,421. It was the Dow’s worst session in nearly three weeks. 

Two forces drove the selling.

First, Brent crude briefly reached $99.46 after Houthi attacks struck Saudi energy facilities, before settling at $97.92 a barrel. U.S. crude settled at $93.03, its highest level in nearly three months. The 10-year Treasury yield pushed around 4.80%, increasing borrowing-cost pressure just days before the final inflation reports preceding the Federal Reserve’s September 16 decision. Markets are pricing roughly a 60% probability of a rate increase. 

Second, investors again questioned whether artificial intelligence will destroy portions of the traditional software business. Salesforce fell roughly 4%, while ServiceNow and Intuit each lost around 5% as OpenAI’s new GPT-6 Astra renewed fears that businesses may replace expensive specialized software with increasingly capable general-purpose AI. The S&P software and services index fell for a second consecutive session. 

That is becoming one of the most important divisions in the stock market: AI infrastructure companies are being rewarded for building the technology while some software companies are being punished because investors fear the same technology could replace them.

Main Street — Small Businesses Say Sales Are Getting Harder

America’s small businesses became less optimistic in August.

The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index fell 1.1 points to 98.7, down from 99.8 in July, although it remains slightly above its 52-year average of 98.0. 

The headline number was not the most important part.

A net 9% more businesses reported declining rather than increasing sales during the previous three months, the weakest reading since November 2025. Expectations for better overall business conditions fell five points, while the share of owners planning to create jobs dropped three points to a net 17%. 

Inflation also moved back up the worry list. Sixteen percent of owners named inflation as their single biggest problem, up two points from July.

There was one meaningful piece of relief: labor costs as the biggest business problem fell to their lowest level since March 2021.

Why it mattered today: Main Street is describing a different economy from the one suggested by Friday’s strong national jobs report. Employers are not collapsing, but customers are becoming harder to capture and businesses are growing more cautious about hiring and expansion.

That matters especially if oil and interest rates continue rising simultaneously.

AI Chips — Amazon Could Buy $60 Billion From Qualcomm

Qualcomm landed one of the largest potential AI infrastructure orders yet.

Amazon can purchase as much as $60 billion of Qualcomm AI data-center chips and related products under a new long-term agreement.

Qualcomm is giving Amazon warrants worth roughly $4 billion, allowing it to purchase as many as 25 million Qualcomm shares at $161.26 apiece as product-purchase targets are reached. Qualcomm shares rose following the announcement. 

The arrangement covers custom AI processors and optical-connectivity technology needed to move enormous quantities of data between chips inside AI data centers.

For Qualcomm, this is an attempt to build a second enormous business as it prepares eventually to lose Apple’s modem business and faces softer smartphone demand.

The company is targeting $15 billion in annual data-center chip revenue by 2029.

Why it mattered today: Amazon is actively creating alternatives to Nvidia rather than accepting permanent dependence on one dominant AI-chip supplier.

That means AI’s next phase is increasingly about custom chips, networking and bargaining power, not simply buying more Nvidia GPUs.

Artificial Intelligence — Meta Launches an Agent That Can Spend Your Money

Meta launched Muse, an autonomous AI assistant capable of doing something fundamentally different from a conventional chatbot.

It can act.

Muse can connect with email, calendars, shopping services, payments, health applications and smart-home systems. Meta says it can book travel, send emails, make payments and even help sell a car on a user’s behalf. It launches initially in the United States through a dedicated app and WhatsApp. 

The business opportunity is enormous.

If AI agents begin actually making purchases rather than merely recommending products, companies may increasingly be selling to algorithms acting for customers.

But the risks are equally large.

Internal testing reportedly uncovered incidents involving unexpected data transfers, connection problems and exposure of sensitive personal information. Meta says the product meets its safety and privacy standards while acknowledging agents can make mistakes. 

Why it mattered today: AI is moving from answering questions to controlling transactions.

For businesses, that potentially changes advertising, e-commerce, customer acquisition and payments. For consumers, it raises a much bigger question: how much authority should software receive to act with your money and personal information?

U.S.-China Technology — Washington Accuses Chinese AI Firms of Copying American Models

The U.S. government accused six Chinese AI companies, including DeepSeek, Moonshot AI and Alibaba, of using American AI systems to accelerate development of their own models.

Officials said Chinese firms used a technique known as distillation, feeding outputs from American systems into smaller models to reproduce capabilities more cheaply and quickly. They named technology originating from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and SpaceX among the systems allegedly targeted. 

U.S. officials went further, saying the activity occurred likely with Chinese government awareness and warning that the resulting technology could strengthen Chinese military and cyber capabilities.

The accusation arrives only weeks before the planned Trump-Xi meeting later this month.

Why it mattered today: The AI competition between the United States and China is rapidly becoming an intellectual-property and national-security battle.

Exporting advanced chips is one issue.

Preventing a competitor from extracting the capabilities of an already-trained American AI model may prove significantly harder.

Autos & Manufacturing — Washington Tells Ford Its China Dependence Has Gone Too Far

The Trump administration sharply criticized Ford over its relationships with Chinese companies including CATL, Geely and BYD.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Ford CEO Jim Farley that the company’s continued reliance on Chinese technology poses national-security concerns. 

The administration specifically highlighted Ford’s licensing of CATL battery technology for its Michigan battery plant, its partnership with Geely in Spain and discussions with BYD involving hybrid-vehicle components.

Officials also criticized Ford for waiting until 2030 to move production of its Lincoln Nautilus from China to the United States.

This is increasingly becoming the central argument surrounding American industrial policy.

Washington is no longer concentrating only on where the final automobile is assembled.

It is scrutinizing who supplies the battery technology, software, electronics and underlying intellectual property.

Why it mattered today: Manufacturers can no longer assume that building the final product in America will satisfy Washington if strategically important technology inside that product still comes from China.

Cybersecurity — One Attack Just Knocked Boston Scientific Off Its Annual Forecast

Boston Scientific warned that a cybersecurity attack discovered August 25 caused enough disruption that the medical-device company is now unlikely to achieve its previous third-quarter and full-year sales and profit guidance.

The attack disrupted networks used for manufacturing, order processing and other operations around the world. Major distribution centers and most manufacturing operations have restarted, but the company still cannot quantify the full financial damage. 

Before the attack, Boston Scientific expected full-year adjusted earnings of $3.28 to $3.32 a share and revenue growth of 5.5% to 6.5%.

Shares fell sharply Tuesday.

Why it mattered today: Cybersecurity has become an operating-cost issue, not simply an IT problem.

A company can have customers, factories and products ready to go and still lose revenue because the digital systems connecting orders, manufacturing and shipping are unavailable.

For business owners, the lesson is straightforward: cyber insurance and backup systems belong in the same risk conversation as property insurance and supply-chain continuity.

Broadband & AI Infrastructure — Verizon Orders 80 Million Miles of Fiber

Verizon signed a multibillion-dollar agreement with Corning covering more than 80 million miles of high-density optical fiber and connectivity products between 2027 and 2032. 

The fiber will support Verizon’s residential and business broadband expansion.

But AI is an important part of the economics.

Hyperscale data centers require enormous bandwidth connecting campuses, servers and network infrastructure. The computing boom therefore creates demand far beyond chips and electricity.

It requires fiber.

Why it mattered today: Investors increasingly need to look beyond Nvidia to understand where AI money is flowing.

The buildout is creating business for utilities, construction companies, fiber manufacturers, electrical-equipment companies, cooling suppliers and networking firms.

Corning is another example of an older industrial company finding itself directly inside the AI capital-spending boom.

New Jersey & Wall Street — Holtec Seeks a $10.2 Billion Valuation

Camden, New Jersey-based Holtec launched plans for an initial public offering that could value the nuclear-technology company at as much as $10.2 billion.

Holtec plans to offer 50 million shares at between $15 and $18, potentially raising as much as $900 million. 

The offering arrives as nuclear power is being revalued because AI data centers and other electricity-intensive industries require enormous quantities of reliable power.

It is also an important test of the fall IPO market.

Strong trading after Holtec’s offering could encourage additional private companies to move ahead with listings before year-end.

Why it mattered today: Nuclear power has moved from an industry many investors considered stagnant to one increasingly linked directly to America’s AI and electricity strategy.

Holtec is attempting to put a multibillion-dollar public-market valuation on that change.

Pharmaceuticals — Novartis Loses $32 Billion in One Day

Novartis suffered its worst one-day stock decline on record, dropping 10.9% in Switzerland and erasing approximately $32 billion in market value.

The trigger was failure of a late-stage study of del-desiran, an experimental treatment for myotonic dystrophy. 

The failure is particularly painful because Novartis obtained the drug through its approximately $12 billion acquisition of Avidity.

Analysts had previously estimated peak annual sales of roughly $3.1 billion for the treatment.

It is also Novartis’ second significant clinical disappointment within days, putting additional pressure on CEO Vas Narasimhan’s acquisition-driven strategy for replacing revenue from drugs approaching patent expiration.

Why it mattered today: Pharmaceutical acquisitions are increasingly priced around drugs that have not yet reached the market.

A single failed clinical trial can therefore destroy not only the expected sales of a product but billions of dollars of assumed acquisition value overnight.

Key Market Movers

Intel was one of Tuesday’s strongest large-cap stocks, jumping close to 10% amid renewed enthusiasm around AI and data-center chips. Qualcomm gained roughly 3% after unveiling the Amazon agreement. Energy companies including Marathon Petroleum and Occidental Petroleum advanced as oil rose. 

On the other side, Salesforce fell roughly 4%, ServiceNow and Intuit about 5%, reflecting fears that generative AI will disrupt established software businesses. Novartis plunged 10.9% in Europe and its U.S.-listed shares fell even more sharply, while Boston Scientific declined after its cyberattack warning. Crypto-related names also weakened as bitcoin slipped below $80,000, with Coinbase and Strategy falling. 

The market’s message Tuesday was unusually clear:

Owning the infrastructure behind AI was rewarded. Owning businesses that AI could potentially replace was not.

What to Watch Wednesday, September 9

The biggest scheduled corporate event arrives at 1 p.m. ET, when Apple holds its first major product launch under new CEO John Ternus.

Wall Street expects Apple to unveil its first foldable iPhone, with analysts anticipating a price above $2,500, alongside new high-end iPhones and a major Siri AI upgrade. Analysts estimate the foldable device could eventually generate more than $45 billion in revenue by the end of 2027. 

For investors, however, Siri may matter more than the hinge.

Apple must convince Wall Street that it can remain a central gateway for artificial intelligence rather than allowing OpenAI, Google and Meta to control the next generation of consumer computing.

Oil will remain the other major market driver.

Brent came within roughly $2 of $100 Tuesday. Another attack on Gulf energy infrastructure or additional disruption to Hormuz shipping could push energy through that psychological threshold and increase expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise rates next week.

Markets will also begin positioning for the Producer Price Index on Thursday and Consumer Price Index on Friday, the final major inflation readings before the Fed’s September 16 decision. Economists expect wholesale inflation to accelerate, making those numbers particularly important after the latest surge in energy costs. 

Wednesday also brings a group of consumer and business earnings, including Chewy, American Eagle Outfitters and AeroVironment, offering additional reads on discretionary spending and defense demand. 

Bottom Line

Tuesday was not simply a bad day for stocks.

It exposed several of the most important shifts happening underneath the economy.

Small businesses say sales are weakening. Oil is nearing $100. Interest rates may rise again. Cyberattacks are now knocking major corporations off their earnings forecasts. Washington is forcing manufacturers to reconsider Chinese supply chains. And AI is beginning to separate corporate winners from potential casualties.

At the same time, Amazon is potentially committing tens of billions to alternative AI chips, Verizon is ordering tens of millions of miles of fiber and a New Jersey nuclear company believes the public market may value it above $10 billion.

There is still enormous capital available.

But investors are becoming much more selective about which side of the economic transformation receives it.

JBizNews Desk | Wall Street

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