US stocks opened higher on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite all moving up as technology shares bounced back from a bruising Wednesday session.

The catalyst was a revenue figure tied to OpenAI, a private artificial intelligence company. One day, a report on its finances sank technology stocks. The next day, a different report about the same company helped lift them.

Futures Point the Way Before the Bell

Futures pointed the way before the bell on October 9, 2026. Dow futures rose approximately 0.1-0.2%, while S&P 500 futures gained between 0.3-0.4%. The real action sat in technology: Nasdaq-100 futures advanced by 0.7-0.8%, the biggest move of the three. Futures are contracts tied to index levels that trade outside regular exchange hours, giving investors an early read on how the cash market may open.

Wednesday's Split Session

The prior session ended with a split decision. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 51.77 points, or 0.10%, at 51,231.64, holding its ground broader markets slipped. The S&P 500 fell 36.41 points, or 0.47%, to finish at 7,765.36. The Nasdaq Composite took the worst of it, dropping 345.35 points, or 1.25%, to close at 27,193.34.

The OpenAI Number That Moved the Market

Wednesday's technology slide was attributed to a Financial Times report on OpenAI's finances. According to the FT, OpenAI's annualized revenue stood at around $50 billion at the end of September — a run-rate figure that extrapolates a single period's sales to a full-year pace. Earlier expectations had pegged that figure at $70 billion.

Then came the counterweight. Bloomberg reported that OpenAI anticipated reaching or exceeding the $70 billion mark by year-end. The two reports are not necessarily contradictory: one describes where revenue reportedly stood at the end of September, while the other describes where OpenAI reportedly expects it to land by December.

As a private company, OpenAI does not publish quarterly earnings the way listed firms do, so its financial picture reaches markets mainly through press reports — one reason a single story can move prices this sharply.

Strength showed up in semiconductor and AI-related exchange-traded funds during the rebound.

Oil Gives the Rally a Second Leg

Brent crude futures declined toward $102 per barrel as concerns about supply disruptions in the Middle East cooled. The decline lent additional support to the equity rally. Brent, the international crude benchmark, is among the macro variables equity investors watch alongside corporate earnings. Despite Wednesday's pullback, markets were still on track for weekly gains.

What This Means for Investors

A revenue report about OpenAI, a firm with no publicly traded shares, knocked 1.25% off the Nasdaq Composite in a single day. Chipmakers, cloud providers and AI-themed funds all trade partly on the assumption that AI spending keeps growing.

Sentiment around AI swung from worry to relief within roughly 24 hours, driven by two press reports. Investors heavily exposed to technology should note the asymmetry: a headline that hints at slower AI revenue can do real damage fast, while the recovery has depended on a forecast that has not yet been delivered.

The $70 billion year-end target now becomes a benchmark the market will watch closely. For now, the Dow is holding above 51,000 and the S&P 500 sits near 7,765. The Nasdaq still has work to do to reclaim the 345.35 points it surrendered on Wednesday.