Only four sectors finished higher, and most themes were deeply in the red yesterday. Only 27% of S&P 500 (SPX) components finished in the plus column, and only 17% for the S&P 400.

Internal Bleeding

The market stumbled out of the gate, and while there wasn’t any panic, internals kept getting decimated:

• Decliners outpaced advancers on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at almost a 4:1 ratio
• New lows towered over new highs
• Down volume swamped up volume (even on the NASDAQ)

Still Fearful

The Fear & Greed Index has raced back into “neutral” after knocking on the door of “extreme fear” a week ago. It might not be “fear,” but there is serious anxiety out there. Investors are looking for a clean break and are willing to chase at this stage.

There is Demand, After All!

Primary dealers took a record-low 2.5% of yesterday's $39.0 billion bond auction and served as a relief valve for yields, which were off to the races at the start of trading. We could be at a short-term top/pause, but I’m still in the camp that this is year three in the secular bond bear market.

Some Calm

Today’s Session

Crude Higher

Hurricane Isaias is expected to make landfall.  Production has been partially shut down in the Florida Panhandle, Alabama, and Louisiana.

• 25% of oil production
• 16% of nat gas production

Overnight, a tanker was hit in the Persian Gulf; meanwhile, attacks in the Strait continue to rise.  Now there are reports that the administration is considering renewed attacks on Iran before the midterm elections.

Federal Reserve

Chris Waller joining the rate hike camp all but assures there will be more hikes although not necessarily at this month’s FOMC gathering.

No More Mathematicians

On Tuesday, OpenAI posted the results of AI solving dozens of the most important problems in mathematics.

OpenAI has made the information public, and the math community has been busy trying to cool it off.

Meanwhile, some are calling Tuesday’s post the biggest day of scientific advancement in history.

Mathematicians are howling and for good reason - they might become obsolete.  One meme captures both the conceit and vulnerability of mathematicians in the age of AI.

Comments

AI is a great teacher/tutor. i'm retired Engineer, and I currently use it a lot to solve investing questions Russell Boward on 10/8/2026 10:00:23 AM

As an auditor before I retired. Part of our tests on corporate records, was to recheck the accuracy of computer generated results. Similar to AI results, you can’t take them at face value. A person needs to have some basic knowledge of subject to assess the veracity of the results. We will never eliminate people due to AI. There should always be a human in the process. Debby Deering on 10/8/2026 11:22:07 AM

No issue with AI/SI solving my math problems, the key for me is to initially double-check it's math, but generally speaking AI would be much more efficient at it SteveF on 10/8/2026 12:01:06 PM

Wonder what AI/SI would propose to 1)Reduce National Debt and 2) Preserve funding for Social Security and Medicare. Will it promote Socialism? P. Krueger on 10/8/2026 12:19:54 PM

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