Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.6% and S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% as traders weighed a stacked Earnings slate. SpaceX's Blowout quarter and Merger talk with Tesla dominated the pre-market, Super Micro jumped 12% on a guidance hike, and France's 10-year Bond Yield touched 5% for the first time since 2002.

  1. SPACEX/TESLA: Musk Floats a Merger That Could Create a $3 Trillion Company After SpaceX's Blowout Quarter

SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX) shares rose as much as 8% pre-market after the company reported third-quarter Revenue up 161% to $14.58 billion and a quarterly profit of $4.4 billion, beating expectations. Elon Musk said SpaceX and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) have formed special committees to explore a merger he called a good idea, adding that as a conflicted party he could not personally push a deal through and that the committees would decide; a combined entity could be worth more than $3 trillion. Tesla shares rose 1% ahead of its own earnings later Wednesday. Other space names rallied are Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) up 2.5%, AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) up almost 3% and Firefly Aerospace (NASDAQ:FLY) up 3.5%.

  • A SpaceX-Tesla tie-up would combine Musk's two largest ventures into a single entity rivaling the world's biggest companies by market value.
  • Risk note: Musk's conflicted-party disclosure leaves the committees, not Musk, to negotiate terms, so the structure and price of any deal remain open.
  1. AI TRADE: Super Micro Jumps 12% on a Guidance Hike as Anthropic's IPO Loss Widens to $80.7 Billion

Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI) jumped more than 12% after raising its first-quarter revenue outlook to $18.5 billion to $19.5 billion, well above the $15.23 billion expected, and lifting Margin guidance to 12% to 12.5%. Server rivals Dell (NYSE:DELL) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) rose 5.5% and 4.5% on the news. Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Meta are expected to spend more than $700 billion on AI infrastructure this year. Separately, a draft IPO prospectus showed Anthropic's net loss widened to $80.7 billion in the first half of 2026, from $13 billion a year earlier, largely a $72 billion non-cash charge tied to convertible bonds rather than operating costs; some investors are now weighing a lower IPO valuation near $1.5 trillion after Anthropic disclosed third-quarter revenue grew 45% to $16.8 billion, a slower sequential pace than the second quarter's jump to $11.6 billion.

  • Super Micro's guidance hike is a bright spot for AI hardware Demand even as scrutiny over Data Center Debt intensifies elsewhere.
  • Risk note: a cooler reception to Anthropic's IPO could weigh on the broader AI trade given how much sentiment hinges on its success.
  1. OIL: Brent Tops $111 as Houthi Strikes Widen and Hormuz Tanker Attacks Push Freight Costs Higher

Brent crude briefly touched $111 a barrel, its highest since May, before easing to around $109.73, while West Texas Intermediate traded near $99. Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps said naval mines halted three tankers attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz through routes Tehran deems unauthorized, and Yemen's Houthi militants claimed strikes on Saudi Aramco's Shaybah oilfield and airports in Riyadh and Abha. Global crude freight rates have surged above $20 a barrel, from about $3 a year ago, with Goldman Sachs estimating Hormuz war-risk premiums account for roughly $7 of that increase and ship-to-ship transfers outside the Persian Gulf another $4.

  • Goldman Sachs said the elevated freight costs are squeezing Asian refiners' margins hardest, a dynamic that could eventually push up refined fuel prices.
  • Risk note: diminishing prospects for near-term peace talks mean the war-risk premium in freight and crude prices may persist rather than unwind quickly.
  1. FRANCE BONDS: 10-Year Yield Hits 5% for the First Time Since 2002 as Budget Fears Deepen

France's 10-year government bond yield touched 5.002%, a 24-year high, before settling just below that level, up about 8 basis points on the day. The spread over benchmark German Bunds widened to around 157 basis points, nearing levels last seen in 2011. France's Budget Deficit is now forecast at 5.4% of GDP this year, and the government is struggling to push a budget through parliament while containing protests over education and the cost of living that have turned into riots and looting in several cities. Uncertainty ahead of a contested election next year adds to the pressure on French assets.

  • The 157 basis-point spread over German debt shows investors increasingly pricing France closer to peripheral euro-area borrowers than to its core-economy peers.
  • Risk note: a failure to pass the budget or a further escalation in street protests could push yields past the 5% threshold decisively.
  1. PRE-MARKET MOVERS: Netflix Falls 6% on a Tepid Outlook, AT&T Beats but Slides on a Mexico Charge

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) fell about 6% after cutting its full-year Advertising forecast and issuing a tepid fourth-quarter profit outlook, even though third-quarter revenue of $12.87 billion was in line with estimates and up 12% year over year; the stock is down more than 26% this year, and at least 14 brokerages cut their price targets after the results. AT&T (NYSE:T) fell about 4% despite beating estimates with adjusted profit of 65 cents a share on revenue of $32.3 billion, after taking a $2.6 billion non-cash Impairment charge tied to the planned sale of its Mexico wireless business. Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF) rose 3% on quarterly Net Income of $3.5 billion, while Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) fell 6% and Danaher (NYSE:DHR) slid 5.5% on mixed results.

  • Netflix's advertising-guidance cut is drawing more attention than its in-line revenue, a sign investors are focused on engagement trends over headline growth.
  • Risk note: AT&T's decline despite a clear beat suggests investors are weighing the Mexico charge more heavily than the subscriber gains.
  1. GEOPOLITICS: Witkoff Meets Putin in St. Petersburg to Push for a Resumption of Ukraine Peace Talks

US special envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg, his ninth in-person meeting with the Russian leader, urging a resumption of US-mediated talks with Ukraine; the talks opened with Russia releasing a retired American teacher held in the country. Putin offered to help the US with Iran and floated supplying fertilizer to American farmers, while raising the idea of a trilateral meeting with Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in China next month. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a disruption to Starlink satellite service and intelligence-sharing had been resolved after talks in Oslo this week, though tensions over the diesel export deal with Russia persist.

  • Putin's offer to help on Iran and Supply fertilizer to US farmers suggests Moscow is looking to broaden the agenda beyond Ukraine alone.
  • Risk note: Trump has said it is time for Ukraine to end the war or face consequences, adding pressure on Kyiv despite the reported fix to intelligence-sharing.
  1. MARKET SETUP: Futures Rise as Jio Platforms' IPO Is Oversubscribed in Under Two Hours and Getty Images Files for Bankruptcy

S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% and Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.6%, while Dow futures gained 37 points. India's Jio Platforms drew bids for more than double the shares on offer in its $3.2 billion IPO within two hours of opening, the largest Indian listing in two decades, valuing the Reliance unit at up to $108.3 billion. Getty Images filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, formalizing a move to go private after its planned merger with Shutterstock collapsed; affiliates of the Getty family and Koch Equity Development will own the company after a restructuring expected by year-end. Treasury yields held steady, with the 10-year near 5.12% and the 2-year near 4.79%, as Mortgage applications fell for a seventh straight week even though the 30-year mortgage rate eased slightly to 7.41%.

  • Jio's rapid subscription underscores strong global appetite for new listings even as scrutiny of AI-related IPOs intensifies elsewhere.
  • Risk note: Getty's restructuring leaves it competing against larger rivals from a smaller equity base, with execution risk through year-end.