Anthropic pushes ahead with IPO, spurring US tech stocks higher
Brazilian markets slump as Lula surprises with re-election.
Claude developer Anthropic is pushing ahead with an initial public offering, although it’s keeping mum on the size and valuation, which reportedly has been pared back from the heady target of US$1.75 trillion.
The artificial intelligence giant’s upcoming debut revived investor optimism for tech stocks, with the Nasdaq Composite reversing Friday’s losses as the likes of Nvidia rallied, while social media giant Meta Platforms signalled plans to raise US$95 billion to fund its own AI ambitions.
Brazilian markets tumbled as Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva retained the nation’s presidency, having come second in the first round of voting to Flávio Bolsonaro, who’d made vague pledges to slash the country’s deficit.
And New Zealand’s market returns from the long weekend, catching up on the ASX’s Monday gain, with dual-listed tech stocks such as Gentrack and Vista Group International among those advancing, while Fisher & Paykel Healthcare and the power companies were on the red side of the ledger.
They come
Anthropic moved ahead with listing plans to join the Nasdaq ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday in the US, with its S-1 filing showing surging revenue growth, while outlining the numerous risks of AI getting out of control.
The Claude developer didn’t provide details of its valuation or how much money it planned to raise, although Bloomberg reported people familiar with the deal saw the US$1.75 trillion mooted earlier this year was achievable, while investment bankers had pared back the valuation range to US$1.4 trillion-to-US$1.5 trillion.
The filing showed Anthropic had cash and equivalents of US$112.4 billion as at June 30, with reports suggesting it could raise as much as US$100 billion.
Meanwhile, Meta said it planned to raise US$95 billion by selling shares and preferred stock to fuel its own AI infrastructure expansion.
Stocks on Wall Street rallied, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq up 1.1% in late trading, while the S&P 500 was up 0.8% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3%, with Cisco Systems, Goldman Sachs and Nvidia at the top of the blue-chip index’s leaderboard.
“The move follows renewed enthusiasm around Anthropic's public IPO filing, which has helped revive interest in the AI investment theme,” Moomoo market strategy consultant Greg Boland said in a note. “However, investors still need evidence that substantial infrastructure spending will translate into sustainable earnings and cash flow.”
Meanwhile, Microsoft rallied after extending voluntary retirement buyouts to as many as 60,000 staff, and Verizon Communications slid even as it raised its earnings outlook, with investors wary of the threat posed by satellite services such as SpaceX’s Starlink.
Earnings from Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet later this week will test that AI sentiment, while the Federal Reserve’s upcoming policy review on Wednesday in the US will also be in focus.
A surprising turn
Brazilian markets tumbled, with the São Paulo Stock Exchange’s Bovespa Index sinking 15% after left-wing incumbent Lula won the second round of voting in the presidential election, surprising investors who expected right-wing Bolsonaro to win. Nasdaq-listed Brazilian investment manager XP sank 50%, while New York Stock Exchange-listed digital bank Nu Holdings dropped 17%.
European stock markets were broadly stronger as oil prices eased from their highs, with the UK’s FTSE 100 up 0.7%, Germany’s DAX gaining 0.9% and France’s CAC 40 advancing 0.8%. Brent crude oil futures slipped 0.5% to US$116.10 at 7am in Auckland.
Bloomberg reported the European Union planned to use safeguard measures to reduce Chinese imports of chemicals, furniture and machinery as soon as the first three months of 2027.
Australian futures are pointing to a 0.1% gain for the S&P/ASX 200 index when trading opens across the Tasman, following the 0.2% gain on Monday.
New Zealand markets were closed on Monday for the Labour Day holiday, with dual-listed local companies mixed during the Australian session. F&P Healthcare, Meridian Energy, Contact Energy, Mercury NZ and Auckland International Airport were weaker in Monday ASX trading, while Infratil, Gentrack, Serko and Vista were among the day’s gainers.
Moomoo’s Boland said there might not be a strong lead for the NZX when it opens today, with ASX futures flat.
“Watch the technology rebound, oil prices and interest-rate-sensitive stocks as the week’s major catalysts approach,” he said.
The kiwi dollar traded at 56.89 US cents at 7am in Auckland from 56.97 cents on Friday.
Local data due today include the Reserve Bank’s monthly mortgage lending stats and the central bank’s foreign currency holdings.
Reporting by Paul McBeth. Image from Planet Volumes on Unsplash.
