Tech Market Rally:

• A surge in technology stocks drove markets to their best day since early August. Meta jumped 11% following early success with its AI agent, and AMD topped $1 trillion in market value. The S&P 500 rose 1.5% and the Nasdaq 100 gained 2.8%, while Bitcoin climbed above $86,000 and the 10-year Treasury yield fell below 5%.

US–Iran Diplomacy & Oil Market:

• Hopes for diplomatic resolution to the Iran conflict pulled Brent crude prices down 3.4% to around $100/bbl (WTI down 4.5% to $95.78/bbl). Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi arrived in New York for the UN General Assembly, and President Trump indicated he would likely be open to meeting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Meanwhile, Qatar reported working to facilitate a US–Iran agreement.

Energy Infrastructure Investment Plan:

• The Trump administration proposed investing $5 billion to kickstart a $10 billion investment fund named "Pact" (Partnership for Allied Trust and Construction) alongside Middle Eastern partners to rebuild Gulf energy infrastructure.

Federal Reserve Outlook:

• St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem noted that inflation remains too high (1 percentage point above target at up to 3%) and signaled that interest rates likely need to rise further, suggesting earlier and incremental rate hikes are preferable to larger ones down the line.

US–China Talks:

• Officials from the US and China reported positive discussions on AI, trade, and investment ahead of an upcoming summit between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

International Briefs:

• Libya: An armed group shut a valve on the Sharara crude pipeline, causing a sharp drop in oil output.
• UK & Diego Garcia: Downing Street reaffirmed its commitment to working with Mauritius and the US on the future of the Diego Garcia military base.
• Canada: Introduced draft legislation to streamline approvals for major strategic trade corridor projects down to one year.