Today’s Market Recap: Fed Raises Rates by 25 Bps, May Hike Again This Year; Gold Tumbles as Intel Rises 4%

The Fed raised interest rates by 25 basis points and signaled that it may continue tightening policy later this year. The Fed unanimously decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate to 3.75%–4.00%. The latest quarterly projections show that 16 of the 18 officials submitting forecasts expect at least one more 25-basis-point rate hike before the end of 2026, with the median policy rate corresponding to 4.00%–4.25%, and projected to remain at this level in 2027. The Fed also raised its PCE inflation forecast for the end of 2026 from 3.6% to 3.7% and revised its GDP growth forecast up from 2.2% to 2.3%.

U.S. retail sales surged 1.2% month-on-month in August, while core retail sales grew 1.4%. Data from the U.S. Department of Commerce showed that August retail sales rose 1.2% month-on-month, significantly higher than the market expectation of 0.8% and marking the largest gain since March; core retail sales grew 1.4%, also far exceeding the 0.4% forecast. The strong consumer spending data prompted Goldman Sachs to raise its forecast for U.S. third-quarter annualized GDP growth to 3.0%, while JPMorgan revised its forecast up to 3.5%.

U.S. import prices rose 7% year-on-year, showing inflationary pressures have yet to ease noticeably. Import prices rose 0.7% month-on-month in August, higher than the market expectation of 0.4%; the year-on-year increase reached 7.0%, the highest since August 2022. Among them, prices for imported computers, peripherals, and semiconductors jumped 19.1% year-on-year, indicating that the AI investment boom is also impacting the costs of certain capital goods.

SK Hynix in talks with Intel to produce memory chips in the U.S. for the first time. Sources said the two sides are discussing various options, including SK Hynix leasing part of the capacity at Intel's Ohio plant, or forming a joint venture with Intel and major cloud computing companies. Negotiations remain exploratory, with no final decision made yet. If the deal moves forward, it would mark SK Hynix's first time manufacturing memory chips on U.S. soil.

Apple reportedly considers returning to the server market using Nvidia technology. Apple (AAPL) is developing AI inference servers powered by its self-developed M8 Ultra chip and considering using Nvidia's (NVDA) NVLink Fusion interconnect technology. The project could launch as early as 2029, though it remains subject to adjustments or cancellation. If implemented, it will mark Apple's re-entry into the dedicated server hardware market after exiting the Xserve product line in 2011.

OpenAI to regularly disclose anomalous AI model behavior. OpenAI announced the establishment of a new framework for tracking and disclosing model misalignments, releasing six case studies of anomalous or concerning model behavior observed over the past six months. The company stated that as the autonomous capabilities of AI agents increase, the industry has yet to fully solve the problems of model alignment and behavioral control.

U.S. House passes first bill targeting data center power costs. The House of Representatives passed the Ratepayer Protection Act by a vote of 417 to 3, requiring state public utility regulators to evaluate whether high-power users such as large data centers should bear the additional costs of building new power infrastructure for them. This marks the first time the U.S. House of Representatives has passed federal legislation directly addressing the economic costs of AI data centers.

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This content was translated using AI and reviewed for clarity. It is for informational purposes only.