Wall Street Breakfast Podcast: S&P 500 Shuffle, Market Moves

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Robinhood (HOOD) and AppLovin (APP) rally after S&P 500 inclusion; Strategy (MSTR) falls after missing out. (00:27) Alibaba (BABA) leads $140M funding for Chinese humanoid startup X Square Robot – report. (01:11) OpenAI plans AI-powered jobs platform that may target Microsoft’s LinkedIn. (02:09)

This is an abridged transcript.

When you check out futures this morning you’ll notice AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP) and Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ:HOOD) are among the biggest movers.

The two companies are on the rise after being added to the S&P 500 Index to replace MarketAxess Holdings (MKTX) and Caesars Entertainment (CZR). EMCOR Group (EME) was also added to the index to replace Enphase Energy (ENPH).

This is all expected to happen before the market opens on September 22, 2025.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) and Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) are up 7.5% and 7.6% respectively. EMCOR (EME) is 2.4% higher.

Strategy (MSTR) is 1.9% lower after missing out on S&P 500 inclusion, despite some speculation that it would make the cut.

The robotics startup X Square Robot just had a $140 million (1 billion yuan) funding round and Alibaba was one of the investors.

Bloomberg reported that X Square is expanding into the humanoid and AI sector.

Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) through its cloud division, was a lead investor in this round alongside other major backers like Meituan and HongShan (formerly Sequoia Capital China) and state-backed CAS Investment Management Co.

The funding round brings X Square Robot’s total funding since 2023 to ~$280 million, making it one of the best-funded robotics startups in China.

The robotics startup recently introduced “Wall-OSS,” an open-source embodied AI foundation model available to developers for robotics integration, and unveiled the Quanta X2 humanoid robot, capable of tasks like 360-degree cleaning and offering pressure-sensitive hand movements.

OpenAI is launching an AI-driven jobs platform and is planning to expand its online learning hub.

The job service could challenge Microsoft-owned (NASDAQ:MSFT) LinkedIn.

“Importantly, the jobs platform won’t just be a way for big companies to attract more talent. It will have a track dedicated to helping local businesses compete, and local governments find the AI talent they need to better serve their constituents,” wrote Fidji Simo, OpenAI’s chief executive of applications in a blog post on Thursday.

Details are limited but a company spokesperson told TechCrunch the service is expected to go live by mid-2026.

As for OpenAI Academy, a new certification program is in the works. The new track will offer credentials in areas ranging from basic workplace AI skills to advanced training in custom jobs and prompt engineering.

What’s Trending on Seeking Alpha:

Amazon to end long-running Prime invitee program

ASML is said to become top investor in French AI startup Mistral

Trump’s deregulatory push hands Detroit automakers multibillion-dollar boost

Catalyst watch:

• McDonald’s (MCD) is launching its revived Extra Value Meals across U.S. locations in what could be a major pricing shot in the fast-food restaurant sector.

• IDEAYA Biosciences (IDYA) will hold an in-person R&D Day in conjunction with the company’s 10-Year anniversary.

• NVIDIA (NVDA) will present at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference.

Dow, S&P and Nasdaq futures are in the green. Crude oil is up 1.9% at $63/barrel. Bitcoin is up 0.6% at $111,000. Gold is up 0.5% at $3,610.

The FTSE 100 is flat and the DAX is up 0.7%.

The biggest movers for the day premarket: New Fortress Energy (NASDAQ:NFE) -12.7% – Shares tumbled after it reported a significant net loss of $556.8 million for the second quarter, compared to a loss of $86.9 million in the same period last year.