Today’s Top Stories: Robinhood, AMD and Micron Drive Tech Market News

TLDR

• Robinhood plans to introduce 24-hour weekend trading for selected U.S. stocks and ETFs.
• AMD is buying AI startup World Labs for $8.2 billion to expand its AI push.
• Micron reports earnings after the bell, with AI memory demand in focus.
• Nvidia raised its share buyback program by $150 billion, a record size.
• The Nasdaq rose more than 1% after cooler inflation data eased rate hike fears.

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Technology stocks are back in focus this week. Several large companies made announcements that could shape trading through the rest of the year.

Wall Street also got some relief from new inflation numbers. Investors are watching closely to see how these stories connect.

Robinhood Expands Into Weekend Trading

Robinhood Markets announced plans to let customers trade selected U.S. stocks and ETFs around the clock. This includes weekends, a first for many retail traders.

The service will run through a system called Bruce ATS. It still needs regulatory approval before it can launch.

Robinhood is also building out other products. These include earnings prediction markets, perpetual futures, and AI agents that can automate parts of trading.

The company says these tools will give everyday investors access to features once reserved for professional traders.

AMD Buys World Labs for $8.2 Billion

AMD agreed to acquire World Labs in a stock deal worth about $8.2 billion. World Labs was co-founded by researcher Fei-Fei Li.

The startup focuses on helping AI systems understand three-dimensional spaces. This could help AMD grow in robotics and simulation technology.

The deal is one of AMD’s largest AI investments so far. AMD continues to compete with Nvidia in the AI chip market, though Nvidia still holds an edge through its software tools.

Micron Earnings in Focus This Week

Micron Technology is set to report earnings after the market closes. Investors are watching demand for high-bandwidth memory chips used in AI systems.

AI data centers need large amounts of memory to run alongside processors. This has made Micron a key player in the AI hardware supply chain.

Analysts expect the earnings report to affect other chip stocks too. A strong outlook could lift the sector, while a weak one could raise concerns about AI spending.

Nvidia Raises Buyback and OpenAI Launches New Agents

Nvidia increased its share buyback program by $150 billion. This brings its total buyback capacity to about $235 billion through fiscal 2028.

That is a larger buyback authorization than Apple’s previous record. Nvidia shares gained more than 2% after the news came out.

Separately, OpenAI introduced new autonomous AI agents called Dots. These agents can work across apps like Slack and Microsoft Teams to complete ongoing tasks for users.

OpenAI said it built in safeguards so companies can limit what the agents are allowed to do. This puts OpenAI in closer competition with Meta in the growing agent space.

Inflation Data Lifts the Nasdaq

New inflation figures came in lower than expected for August. This eased concerns that the Federal Reserve would need to raise interest rates again soon.

The Nasdaq rose more than 1% following the report. The S&P 500 also moved higher on the same day.

Lower inflation tends to ease pressure on growth stocks, especially those tied to technology. Investors now turn their attention to Micron’s earnings as the next major event this week.