Euro rebounds as French bond yields fall
The euro rose 0.35% to $1.126, putting it on course for its largest daily advance since August 19, while the dollar weakened.
US software stocks hit 2026 highs as earnings expectations rise
Expected earnings growth for the sector has reached 20.6%, while analysts say concerns about disruption from artificial intelligence were overstated.
The S&P 500 software and services index gained 1.3% on October 6, reaching its highest level since November 2025. The advance followed the index's strongest quarterly increase since the second quarter of 2020, recorded in July-September.
LSEG data put the sector's projected earnings growth for 2026 at 20.6%, compared with 13.8% at March's end. Results from Salesforce, ServiceNow and Accenture, together with partnerships involving AI laboratories, helped support a rebound that began in late June.
Several analysts said concerns about AI displacing software providers had been exaggerated. The index had fallen more than 26% between late January and its April low as investors worried that businesses would use AI to develop cheaper applications internally.
Adam Turnquist, chief cross-asset strategist at LPL Financial, said AI had helped many software companies more than it had disrupted them. Rebecca Wettemann, CEO of technology research firm Valoir, said the disruption had unfolded more slowly than some on Wall Street expected, with vendors reporting customer uptake as AI use progressed beyond experimentation.
Crowdstrike, Fortinet and Palo Alto Networks have each recorded triple-digit percentage gains in 2026 amid heavy corporate cybersecurity spending. The broader software index is up 5% for the year, compared with an 87.5% rise in the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index, which remains well below its highs.