The Breaker Times

This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.

All-time high, again
Major U.S. indexes rose on Thursday, with the S&P 500 notching a fresh closing high. Micron jumped 14.73% on better-than-expected guidance. Europe’s Stoxx 600 index advanced 1.25% as luxury shares popped and regained losses from earlier in the week. Meanwhile, the Swiss National Bank cut rates by a quarter point to 1%.

Why are Treasury yields rising?
Treasury yields tend to move in tandem with interest rates. Both, broadly speaking, indicate the borrowing costs of money. When the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates last week, it’s not unreasonable to expect Treasury yields to dip. Instead, they’ve been climbing. CNBC’s Jeff Cox breaks down what’s happening.

‘No current plans’ for Altman equity
At an all-hands meeting on Thursday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman denied he received a “giant equity stake” in the company, and said “there are no current plans” for him to receive one, according to a source who asked to remain unnamed. That said, OpenAI Chairman Bret Taylor told CNBC the board “has had discussions” on compensating Altman with equity.

CFOs predict Harris victory
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is likely to win the presidential election, according to 55% of chief financial officers polled by CNBC. About a third think Donald Trump will win, and the rest are unsure. But 55% of respondents think Trump will be better for the economy and on inflation. 

[PRO] Independent of economy
Earlier this week, China announced measures, such as reducing the amount banks are required to hold and cutting household rates, to stimulate the economy. Here are some Chinese stocks that might do well regardless of how effective those measures turn out.

Semantic satiation is the phenomenon in which a word or phrase is repeated so often it loses meaning to the person listening to or reading it.

There’s one phrase that’s been echoing throughout the year: “all-time high.”

On Thursday, the S&P closed at an all-time high of 5,745.37 after rising 0.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.62% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.6%.

Financial firm Oppenheimer noted the broad-based index has touched new levels on more than 20% of trading days so far this year.

If the narrative propelling markets forward – the promise of artificial intelligence and a soft landing for the U.S. economy amid rate cuts – continues uninterrupted, the S&P is on track to finish 2024 more than 20% higher.

Judging from economic data released yesterday, the narrative’s progressing well.

Initial jobless claims for the week ending Sept. 21 dropped by a more-than-anticipated 4,000 from the previous week, suggesting layoffs aren’t happening in the job market.

Durable goods orders, which comprise long-lasting items like aircrafts and appliances, were little changed in August, beating an estimated 3% decline.

Most significantly, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analyst’s third estimate of second-quarter GDP kept growth at a 3% annualized rate, while sharply revising real gross domestic income upward to 3.2% per quarter in the first half of the year from 1.3%.

All those data points are “solidifying the notion that the U.S. macro picture is steady,” noted CNBC’s Jeff Cox.

The AI story’s still a great read too.

Micron popped 14.73% after posting revenue guidance higher than Wall Street expectations. That comes on the back of a semiconductor surge on Thursday, when shares of SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics, Tokyo Electron and STMicro rose in tandem.

As long as Friday’s personal consumption expenditures index report is in line with, or better than, expected, investors may hear more instances of “all-time high.”  But it certainly won’t lose its delicious meaning.

– CNBC’s Jeff Cox, Alex Harring, Brian Evans and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this story.