The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record high on Friday, fueled by investor optimism regarding continued progress in lowering inflation. Wall Street enjoyed its third consecutive week of gains, with the S&P 500 and Dow both climbing by approximately 0.6% for the week, while the Nasdaq surged nearly 1%. This positive sentiment stemmed from the release of the personal consumption expenditures index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, which showed an increase of 2.2% in August compared to the previous year, falling below economists’ expectations. This followed the Federal Reserve’s 0.5% interest rate cut on September 18th, the first such reduction in over four years.
Benzinga provides daily reports on the stocks most popular with investors, highlighting both bullish and bearish perspectives. Here’s a look at some of the week’s most notable stories:
Bullish Bets
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Apple’s iPhone Dominance
: An analyst predicts that Apple Inc. (AAPL) will derive a staggering 96% of its 2025 revenue from iPhone sales, positioning it as a safer investment than AI-focused giants like Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), Alphabet Inc. (GOOG, GOOGL), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), and Meta Platforms Inc. (META). This projection highlights the enduring strength of the iPhone market and its potential to drive Apple’s future growth.*
Shiba Inu’s Stablecoin Launch
: Excitement surged within the Shiba Inu SHIB/USD ecosystem following Shytoshi Kusama’s teasing of the impending launch of the SHI stablecoin. This stablecoin is considered a crucial development for Shibarium, potentially leading to a breakout within the Shiba Inu ecosystem.*
Ozempic’s New Use
: A new study revealed that Novo Nordisk A/S’s (NVO) semaglutide, marketed as Ozempic and Wegovy, could significantly lower the risk of opioid overdose in patients suffering from both type 2 diabetes and opioid use disorder. This unexpected benefit of Ozempic highlights its potential beyond weight management and diabetes treatment, opening up new avenues for its application.Bearish Concerns
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Tesla’s Robotaxi Event
: Gary Black, a known Tesla Inc. (TSLA) bull, expressed skepticism about the upcoming Robotaxi event as a catalyst for stock growth. While Black remains optimistic about Tesla’s potential, he suggests that the event may not be the game-changer some investors anticipate. However, he highlighted the potential for a sub-$30K compact EV launch as a key driver of long-term growth for Tesla.*
CrowdStrike Apologizes for Outage
: Adam Meyers of CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (CRWD) issued an apology to lawmakers for the July global outage caused by a faulty update affecting systems running Microsoft software. He assured that CrowdStrike is actively working to prevent similar incidents in the future. This apology underscores the importance of system reliability and the potential consequences of software failures for cybersecurity companies.*
Bitcoin’s Gold Underperformance
: Peter Schiff, a well-known gold advocate, criticized Bitcoin BTC/USD investors for overlooking the cryptocurrency’s 35% decline against gold since November 2021, despite significant media attention and hype surrounding Bitcoin. This highlights the ongoing debate surrounding the value proposition of Bitcoin and its potential as an investment asset.The market continues to evolve, with both bullish and bearish forces shaping investor sentiment. Stay tuned to Benzinga for the latest news and insights as the market navigates through these dynamic times.
