The U.S. economy is gathering steam, and according to MarketWatch, there is a chief reason why: the AI boom shows no sign of easing. As Anthropic prepares to go public and businesses keep buying durable goods, the technology surge is powering a broader pickup in activity.
U.S. economy (Credits: MarketWatch)
US Economy Gathering Steam on AI Boom
The clearest sign of the boom’s momentum came on Monday, when Anthropic filed IPO paperwork for a Nasdaq listing under the ticker “ANT.” The filing disclosed $16.29 billion in first-half revenue, up 1,304% from a year earlier, according to reports — reviving demand for AI-linked shares. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 26,169 points on October 26, up 214 points or 0.8%, with semiconductor stocks surging and the iShares Semiconductor ETF jumping nearly 3%.
Other AI news added fuel the same day: Meta said it planned to raise up to $95 billion to fund AI data center and cloud expansion, while SpaceX reached a reported $40 billion debt deal for AI chips. Nvidia rose 2.4%, Micron gained 3%, and Broadcom advanced 2.3%.
Durable Goods and the Wider Economic Picture
Beyond the stock market, businesses are still spending. Durable goods orders — a closely watched gauge of business investment — were expected to rise in the latest data, a sign that companies continue to buy equipment even amid high borrowing costs. October business surveys have also pointed to strong activity, though growth has been uneven: September employment growth slowed sharply, and the broader distribution of growth across households remains lopsided, analysts noted.
The debate, as one strategist put it, has shifted from whether companies will spend on AI to whether those investments can generate attractive returns within a reasonable timeframe. That scrutiny matters after a year in which technology again accounted for a disproportionate share of the market’s advance.
Still, MarketWatch’s read is that the AI boom — from Anthropic’s blockbuster filing to heavy corporate spending — is the engine behind the economy’s gathering momentum, with investors now watching the Federal Reserve’s policy decision and fresh economic data for the next signals.
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Source: MarketWatch — read the full story there.