• Market recap: The Nasdaq rose 0.5% to score a record close of 27,244 yesterday, with SanDisk (SNDK) in particular rallying 7%. The dollar climbed to an 8-week high as markets price in a 53% chance of another Fed rate hike next month. Sources: CNBC / WSJ.
• Viking pops 36%: Viking Therapeutics (VKTX) jumped 36% after one of its drugs maintained upwards of 90% of weight loss with less frequent dosing. Source: StockAnalysis.com.
• Chinese AI stocks fall on probe: Alibaba (BABA) fell 3% premarket while Z.AI (HKG:2513) and MiniMax (HKG:0100) dropped 12% and 4% after reports that China is investigating DeepSeek and Moonshot over alleged routing of sensitive user data to Anthropic’s Claude. Source: StockAnalysis.com.
• Muse pressures finance stocks: Rapid adoption of Meta's (META) Muse AI agent fueled disruption fears across financial services, sending the S&P 500 financial sector down 2%. Schwab (SCHW) and LPL Financial (LPLA) fell more than 6%. Source: WSJ.
• Apple eyes screenless fitness tracker: Apple (AAPL) is planning a health tracker without a screen as it expands its wearables lineup. The project is still preliminary. Source: Bloomberg.
• Cracker Barrel gains on forecast: Cracker Barrel’s (CBRL) quarterly profit rose to $12.2M as adjusted EPS beat estimates, while revenue fell 2.2%. Shares surged 7% premarket as the chain forecast up to $3.4B in annual revenue and 3–5% comparable restaurant sales growth. Source: WSJ.
• Trump trades SpaceX shares: President Trump bought up to $50K of SpaceX (SPCX) shares in July and sold up to $15K later that month, disclosures show. SpaceX rose 2% yesterday. Source: Reuters.
• Qualcomm launches AI-focused chip: Qualcomm (QCOM) unveiled new chips built on TSMC's (TSM) 2-nanometer process, targeting phones that offer advanced AI features. Qualcomm gained 2%. Source: CNBC.
• Microsoft restructures Xbox studios: Microsoft (MSFT) is shifting video game development for Halo, Sea of Thieves, and Age of Empires to Activision as part of a major Xbox overhaul. The company is also cutting about 268 Xbox jobs following earlier layoffs. Source: The Verge.

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• Royal Caribbean buys Sandals stake: Royal Caribbean (RCL) will purchase 50% of Sandals Resorts for about $3B, expanding into Caribbean resort stays alongside cruises. Shares fell over 6%. Source: Bloomberg.
• Six Flags pushed toward sale: Activist investor Jana Partners is urging Six Flags (FUN) to explore a sale after its Q2 net loss widened to $202.6M. Shares climbed 2.7% premarket. Source: WSJ.
• Priority agrees to buyout: Payments firm Priority Technology (PRTH) will be taken private by a CEO-led investor group in a $1.6B deal. Shares gained 34% on Monday. Source: WSJ.

• Tekever hits $6.4B valuation: AI-powered drone maker Tekever raised $580M at a $6.4B valuation as European defense-tech funding accelerates. Source: CNBC.
• Enveda doubles valuation: In a new funding round, AI biotech startup Enveda doubled its valuation to $2B to advance drug candidates into later-stage trials. Source: WSJ.
• OpenAI and Anthropic cut costs: OpenAI and Anthropic unveiled newer models at lower costs amid growing open-model competition. Source: CNBC.
• Kalshi seeks margin-trading approval: Kalshi is seeking regulatory clearance for risk-based margining on select bets, potentially lowering collateral requirements and attracting more institutional trading. Sports contracts would remain fully collateralized. Source: Finance Magnates.

• Mortgage rates hit 2-year high: The 30-year mortgage rate rose 15 basis points to 7.12%, its highest level since May 2024. Purchase applications fell 0.8%, while refinancing dropped 2.6% to its lowest since Feb. 2025. Source: Bloomberg.
• Oil falls below $100: Oil prices dipped below $100 for the first time since early September. The news comes amid repairs on a damaged Saudi pipeline and hopes of a Strait of Hormuz breakthrough. Sources: NY Times / CNBC.
• Indonesia holds rates: Indonesia's central bank is keeping its benchmark rate at 5.75% after 100 basis points of hikes this year. Source: WSJ.

• Far left wins in Berlin: Die Linke, a left-wing party, won the greatest vote share in Berlin on a platform of lowering housing costs. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, a conservative, criticized the party's plans to target corporate landlords. Sources: Reuters / EuroNews.
• U.S. axes 760K healthcare enrollments: The Trump admin. is stopping coverage for over 760K Obamacare enrollees it says were improperly signed up and freezing new broker registrations for 6 months. Source: Reuters.
• TX halts data center permits: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, halted new data center permits pending an audit. States have been under immense public pressure to curtail data center development. Source: CNBC.
• SCOTUS leaves surrogacy ruling intact: The Supreme Court rejected a surrogate’s emergency bid for custody of an infant with a heart defect, keeping in place a lower-court order recognizing the child’s genetic parents as legal parents. Source: WSJ.
• Cat. 5 storm threatens Mexico: Hurricane Polo — one of the strongest hurricanes recorded in decades — is skirting Mexico’s Pacific coast with 165-mph winds, bringing risks of flooding and mudslides. Source: NPR.

• 7:00 AM: MBA 30-Year Mortgage Rate
• 9:45 AM: S&P Global Manufacturing, Services, & Composite PMI Flash
• 10:30 AM: EIA Crude Oil & Gasoline Stocks Change
• Friday: Durable Goods Orders MoM

Cintas (CTAS) has released its quarterly earnings.

• Revenue of $3.01B (+10.89% YoY) beats by $32.31M.
• EPS of $1.39 (+15.83% YoY) beats by $0.03.
• Financials · As Reported · Metrics · Press Release

Paychex (PAYX) has released its quarterly earnings.

• Revenue of $1.63B (+5.91% YoY) beats by $5.91M.
• EPS of $1.34 (+9.84% YoY) beats by $0.02.
• Financials · As Reported · Metrics · Press Release

General Mills (GIS) has released its quarterly earnings.

• Revenue of $4.39B (-2.82% YoY) beats by $44.80M.
• EPS of $0.75 (-12.79% YoY) beats by $0.03.
• Financials · As Reported · Metrics · Press Release

Costco (COST) will report tomorrow after market close.

• Analysts estimate revenue of $94.85B (+10.09% YoY).
• EPS is estimated to be $6.52 (+11.07% YoY).
• Financials · As Reported · Metrics

Darden Restaurants (DRI) will report tomorrow before market open.

• Analysts estimate revenue of $3.21B (+6.70% YoY).
• EPS is estimated to be $2.05 (+4.06% YoY).
• Financials · As Reported · Metrics

TD SYNNEX (SNX) will report tomorrow before market open.

• Analysts estimate revenue of $18.88B (+20.62% YoY).
• EPS is estimated to be $4.65 (+29.89% YoY).
• Financials · As Reported · Metrics

BlackBerry (BB) will report tomorrow before market open.

• Analysts estimate revenue of $145.03M (+11.90% YoY).
• EPS is estimated to be $0.04 (0.00% YoY).
• Financials · As Reported · Metrics

Carnival Corporation (CCL) will report Tuesday.

• Analysts estimate revenue of $8.40B (+2.99% YoY).
• EPS is estimated to be $1.35 (-5.59% YoY).
• Financials · As Reported · Metrics

• Estimated Wednesday, Sept. 23: Amaero Inc. (AMRO), a producer of titanium and refractory metal powders for defense and aerospace 3D printing with $12.48M in TTM revenue and 378.7% revenue growth YoY.
• Estimated Friday, Sept. 25: ADARx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ADRX), a late-clinical stage biotechnology company with $6.13M in TTM revenue.