Markets Divided as AI Surges, Chips Wobble

US: Anthropic, PayPal, and Tech Momentum

Anthropic launched Claude Opus 5.5 today, cutting costs by 40% versus its predecessor. The model runs on AMZN, GOOGL, and MSFT cloud platforms. All three stocks benefit from AI infrastructure demand. Oppenheimer raised its MSFT price target to $570 today, maintaining an Outperform rating.

PYPL and META announced a direct partnership. PayPal clients can now shop and check out through Meta's Muse AI agents. The tie-up deepens the e-commerce-AI integration trend. Jefferies separately raised its META target to $875 today. Options flow shows META leading bullish large-cap bets this week.

GRMN shares fell after Bloomberg reported AAPL is building a fitness tracker to rival Whoop. Garmin's wearables franchise is now squarely in Apple's crosshairs.

Chips: Divided Options, ETF Short Spike

Semiconductor names are splitting the options market. MU sits at the top of both bullish and bearish bets ahead of Q4 results. AMD shows the same split — up 187% YTD but heavily hedged. The NYSE Technology ETF XNTK rallied 4.1% today. Short interest on the ETF doubled in a single session as traders faded the move.

Europe: Defense and Deal Activity

European stocks slid today. Defense rallied after Ukraine ratified a $105 billion EU loan deal. Dulux maker AkzoNobel surged after rejecting a $14.5 billion takeover bid. The refusal to sell at that price signals management confidence in standalone value.

Earnings Ahead

COST reports Q4 Thursday. AZO drops results Tuesday. Both are key reads on US consumer health. GME short interest jumped 700% in a week — bears are positioning ahead of a volatile reporting stretch.