Stocks close lower: Nasdaq falls 1.2% on OpenAI revenue reset, oil jumps, 10-year yield 5.22%

U.S. stocks split on Thursday, with technology carrying the damage. On Yahoo Finance closing prices, the S&P 500 fell 0.47% to 7,765.36, the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.25% to 27,193.34 and the Nasdaq 100 dropped 1.39% to 30,725.81. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 51.77 points, or 0.10%, to 51,231.64, and the Russell 2000 was flat, up 0.03% at 2,794.13.

The AI sell-off: a revenue figure got smaller

CNBC reported that OpenAI told investors it reached roughly $50 billion in annualized revenue at the end of September, below the $68 billion that had been widely reported late last month. A person familiar with the matter told CNBC the larger number included gross revenue from OpenAI's partners. During the session, CNBC said Nvidia was down about 3%, Oracle 6% and CoreWeave 8%. Our full account is in the OpenAI story.

The index damage was narrower than the headline names suggest. The Dow, which has far less AI exposure, finished higher, and small caps did not move.

Yields eased, but Waller kept hikes on the table

On the Treasury's official curve, the 10-year closed at 5.22%, down from 5.28% on Wednesday. The 2-year was 4.75% (4.77%) and the 30-year 5.60% (5.67%).

CNBC said Fed Governor Christopher Waller told a forum in Istanbul that more hikes are needed to bring inflation down, but that they "do not need to come at consecutive meetings." Yields initially rose on that, then fell back after a $22 billion 30-year auction in which indirect bidders took 72.3% of the sale against a 10-auction average of 68%. The auction yield was 5.618%. The next Fed meeting is October 27-28; see our economic calendar.

Oil jumps on Hormuz and a hurricane

On Yahoo Finance futures data, West Texas Intermediate settled at $90.78, up $2.50 or 2.8%, and Brent at $103.46, up $3.26 or 3.3%. Earlier in the day both had been up about 5%. OilPrice.com reported a dozen attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz between September 28 and October 2, citing a U.S. Navy-led information outlet via Reuters, with Kpler data showing Tuesday's transits at the lowest since late July. It also noted U.S. Gulf Coast operators were shutting in production ahead of Hurricane Isaias. See our crude oil chart.

For owners, the oil move matters more than the index move: diesel and delivery costs follow crude with a lag. Gold futures rose 0.46% to $4,159.60. The Chronicle board showed Bitcoin at about $81,700, down roughly 2% on 24 hours when we checked at 4:36 PM.

Company news

Viatris agreed to buy Pacira (our deal story), and a report that Starbucks explored a Chipotle takeover moved both stocks (our story). Freddie Mac's 30-year mortgage rate rose to 7.40%, a seventh straight weekly gain (details).

What is next

September CPI arrives October 14, with retail sales on October 15, according to our calendar.

Sources: Yahoo Finance closing prices, U.S. Treasury, CNBC, OilPrice.com, Chronicle markets board. Index closes may be revised by the exchanges. This is market information, not investment advice.