Meta Took a $25 Billion Ruling in Stride | AT&T Raised Its Forecast and Fell | More Bond Buyers Bid at 5.47%

Stocks Rose as More Bond Buyers Bid at a Higher Yield

The Nasdaq Composite rose about 1.1% on Wednesday, and the S&P 500 about 0.6%. Meta Platforms (META) and Tesla (TSLA) report after the close.

Across markets, investors traded the number beneath the headline.

The Treasury sold $13 billion of 20-year bonds at 5.469%, up from 5.420% in September. Bids covered the sale 2.73 times, up from 2.57, and dealers were left with about 10%, down from 16.9%. The sale still tailed slightly, clearing just above the pre-auction yield, and indirect buying stayed below its recent average. The 10-year yield edged up late in the session, near 5.15%.

Brent crude erased a morning jump of more than $2 and settled near $108.85, about unchanged, then climbed back toward $110. The data firm Kpler estimated that Middle East oil flows topped prewar levels last week, much of it moving by routes around Hormuz. Month-to-date tallies, including Kpler's own, are far lower.

Investor Signal

More long-term lenders bid, but only at a higher price. Indirect bidders, which include foreign central banks, took about 58%, up from 52.5% in September. A smaller dealer share at a higher yield suggests investors wanted a concession and then bought. The 2-, 5- and 7-year sales next week overlap the Fed's Oct. 27 to 28 meeting and will test whether that demand holds.

A Judge Ordered Meta to Pay $25 Billion. The Stock Still Closed Higher.

A New Mexico judge ordered Meta Platforms (META) to pay $25 billion in civil penalties. A jury had found more than 43 million violations of state consumer law in a case tied to the Cambridge Analytica data episode.

The award is about 7.2 times the $3.45 billion cap Meta proposed. It also equals about 1.4% of Meta's market value of roughly $1.8 trillion. Meta plans to appeal, according to accounts of the ruling, and interest accrues during the appeal.

Shares slipped about 0.45% as the first reports appeared, then recovered. They closed up about 0.5%, below the day's high.

Investor Signal

The violation count is what an appeal can attack, and it drives the size of the award. State law allows up to $5,000 per violation, so a lower count shrinks the bill quickly. This is Meta's second loss in a New Mexico courtroom this year, after a $375 million jury penalty in March. A reserve in tonight's results would be the company's own estimate of the exposure.

AT&T Raised Its Forecast and Fell About 6%. Abbott Is Splitting and Cutting.

AT&T (T) beat forecasts and raised its full-year profit outlook to about $2.40 a share, from $2.25 to $2.35. It also set capital spending for 2027 and 2028 about $1 billion a year below this year's, partly reflecting the planned AT&T Mexico sale. The shares fell more than 6% anyway. Verizon (VZ) and T-Mobile US (TMUS) fell 2% to 2.5% with it.

Revenue per fiber customer fell 4% from a year earlier, and AT&T expects another drop this quarter. It cited introductory pricing and bundle discounts, among others.

Abbott (ABT) plans to spin off its nutrition business, which has about $8.5 billion of annual sales, by the end of 2027. It also cut its 2026 forecast for comparable sales growth, which excludes currency and deal effects, to about 6%, from 6.5% to 7.5%. Medical devices, its largest remaining business, came in below estimates. The shares closed down about 2% after a wide swing.

Investor Signal

Investors judged both companies on the source of their growth. AT&T added a record 769,000 internet customers while fiber revenue per customer fell, which points to growth bought partly with discounts. Its finance chief said the profit raise came mainly from lower depreciation on AT&T Mexico, which is being sold. Abbott's split leaves a company that leans on devices, the unit that missed. A smaller fiber pricing decline next quarter would ease the concern at AT&T.

Pantheon Raised 71% Over Target to Buy Stakes From Investors Who Want Cash

Pantheon closed its latest secondaries fund and related vehicles at $6 billion, against a $3.5 billion target. Secondaries funds buy existing stakes from investors who want cash now.

Owners are also testing exit prices. Blackstone (BX) and Warburg Pincus are exploring a sale of IntraFi at more than $10 billion, according to a report on an early-stage process. That is about 16 times the roughly $630 million of annual EBITDA its sources cited.

Investor Signal

Capital is moving toward strategies that give private equity investors a way out. Fewer private equity funds held final closes in the first nine months, 1,785 against 1,974 a year earlier, though the total raised rose 17%. A sale near 16 times EBITDA would show buyers still pay high multiples for large assets. The discount secondaries buyers pay to net asset value, which Pantheon did not disclose, would show how badly sellers need cash.

Bitcoin Rose About 2%. Galaxy Digital Gained About 7%.

Bitcoin traded near $84,500 late in the day, up about 1.9% since midnight UTC and near its highest since early October. The move began at the U.S. stock open and tracked the Nasdaq. Galaxy Digital (GLXY) closed up about 7.4%, Strategy (MSTR) about 7.5% and Coinbase (COIN) about 3.6%.

Shorts made up about $188 million of $243 million in 24-hour liquidations, CoinGlass data show.

Investor Signal

The rally looks like a tech-led risk move with a short squeeze on top. Fund flows for the day are not out yet, so new buying of the coin is unconfirmed. If bitcoin stalls near $85,000, the stocks that rose most have the most to give back.

Utah Sued Kalshi and Named Its Market Makers Too

Utah's attorney general sued Kalshi in state court, calling its contracts illegal gambling. The suit also names two entities of Susquehanna, a major trading firm whose quotes help keep the contracts tradeable.

Kalshi says it is a federally regulated exchange. A federal judge ruled in August that it is subject to Utah's anti-gambling law, a ruling Kalshi has appealed. Two of the Kalshi entities named would list and clear the crypto perpetual futures that Webull (BULL) plans to offer starting in November.

Investor Signal

Naming the liquidity providers changes who carries the legal risk. Market makers earn thin margins, so state exposure could lead them to quote less where event contracts count as gambling. A second state naming market makers would turn one case into a pattern.

Wednesday's prices followed the figure under each headline. Meta's penalty was large in dollars and small against the company. AT&T's raise rested mainly on lower depreciation while its fiber pricing slipped.

Oil erased its morning spike while one tally showed barrels still moving, and more bond buyers bid once the yield rose. Meta's results tonight will show whether it sets money aside for the New Mexico bill.