First Light News: Payrolls, Midterms & the AI wobble

First Light News focused on three market drivers: central bank expectations, U.S. growth and inflation signals, and renewed caution toward AI-related stocks ahead of major U.S. data. The RBNZ kept the OCR at 2.75% in a surprise hold, against expectations for a hike to 3.00%, while the BoC raised its overnight rate as expected and the Fed, ECB, and BoJ held steady. In the U.S., Q3 GDP came in at 3.4% versus 3.2% consensus, supported by inventories and federal spending, while PCE inflation rose 0.5% month-on-month and 3.6% year-on-year headline, with core up 3.1%. Real disposable income fell 0.3% and the savings rate dropped to 3.8% from 4.1%. The Nasdaq 100 slid 3.5% on Friday, near a third correction this year, as skepticism hit AI buildout plans.