Trending stocks this week as investors weigh Fed outlook, AI concerns

Wall Street ended the week higher as Federal Reserve meeting minutes reinforced a hawkish policy outlook, a major SpaceX (SPCX) deal rattled telecom stocks, and AI infrastructure companies faced renewed scrutiny over revenue expectations.

For the week ended Oct. 9, the blue-chip Dow (DJI) rose +0.9%, the benchmark S&P (SP500) gained +1.2%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (COMP:IND) increased +0.6%.

Here’s what caught investor attention this week:

Constellation Energy (CEG) shares surged about 12% on Tuesday after Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) agreed to purchase 3,590 megawatts of power from the company. The deal includes a 20-year agreement for 890 MW of new nuclear power and will support more than $4.3 billion in investment to upgrade Constellation's existing nuclear reactors.

SpaceX’s (SPCX) $8B deal to buy a nationwide low-band spectrum portfolio from Grain Management sparked a sudden selloff in major telecom stocks. Shares of AT&T (T) tumbled almost 11% on Friday, while Verizon (VZ) fell almost 10%, T-Mobile (TMUS) dropped more than 13%, and AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) slid more than 10%.

UPS (UPS) mistakenly routed sensitive components from Lockheed Martin’s (LMT) F-35 stealth fighter through Hong Kong after an employee failed to see a warning that the shipment was subject to U.S. arms-export restrictions, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday.

Humana (HUM) shares jumped nearly 12% on Friday after the Louisville, Kentucky-based health insurer announced that 95% of its Medicare Advantage members would be enrolled in plans rated four stars or higher for 2027. The stock closed at $431.87, up $44.75 on the day.

DA Davidson lifted its price target on Micron (MU) to $3000 from $2100 on the memory-chip maker's growth prospects as AI drives demand for memory. The $3000 price target implies about 195% upside from Micron's shares. "Micron is on a growth trajectory for the next 3-5 years, which is what the market has not yet acknowledged," analyst Gil Luria said.

Rivian (RIVN) produced 19,751 vehicles at its Illinois facility and delivered 19,248 in Q3, an increase of 84% and 45%, respectively, from a year ago and better than Wall Street expected. The production and delivery figures were in line with Rivian’s (RIVN) expectations, leading the carmaker to reaffirm its guidance to deliver 65K to 70K vehicles in 2026.

Samsung Electronics (SSNLF) expects quarterly operating profit to surge nearly nine-fold year over year to a record 107.4T won ($80.1B), below the average analyst estimate. Meanwhile, TSMC (TSM) reported record Q3 revenue of NT$1.49T ($46.71B), up 50% year over year, driven by AI demand.

PepsiCo (PEP) reported its fiscal third-quarter earnings report, with organic sales up 3.1% during the quarter vs. the consensus expectation for a rise of 2.9%. Core EPS increased 2% to $2.34 to top the consensus estimate by $0.04. Looking ahead, PepsiCo (PEP) expects organic revenue to be up 3% for the full year and core constant currency EPS to be up between 2.5% and 3.5%.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) rose over 6% after the Financial Times reported that Starbucks (SBUX) has explored a takeover of the Mexican food chain. The status of the takeover plans and whether Starbucks (SBUX) has submitted a formal offer couldn't be determined. The news comes after a report earlier this week from Semafor that raised the possibility that the two chains could merge and run operations similar to Yum! Brands’, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell.