WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said supply-chain bottlenecks in the Strait of Hormuz are putting global trade at risk of its most severe disruption in 80 years, threatening food and fertilizer prices, according to Anadolu. She noted that global goods trade expanded 4.6% this year, beating expectations, and that 72% of global commerce continues to operate under WTO rules. She also pointed to WTO estimates that crude oil at $90 a barrel could cut overall trade growth by 0.5 points, with prices now above that level.

SPCX shares fell more than 2% even after NASA said on September 17 that SpaceX will launch the StarBurst spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket. The market is also focused on an upcoming Nasdaq-100 weight rebalance that could lift SpaceX’s weighting from about 1.28% to roughly 2.82%. Estimates cited by commentator Sawyer Merritt suggest the change could trigger $15.5 billion to $22 billion in passive-fund buying.

Cotton arrivals from India’s 2026 kharif crop have started improving, with daily inflows estimated at around 30,000 bales across several key producing states. Prices in Maharashtra are hovering around ₹8,600 per quintal due to high moisture levels. Buyers are staying cautious as global prices soften, weighing on domestic spot and auction rates. Arrivals are expected to rise further from the first week of October.

India’s central government has raised the sugar stockholding limit for bulk consumers to 30 days from 15 days after a recent slide in prices. Retail sugar prices have fallen about 10% from a peak of Rs 65 in August to Rs 58.5, while ex-mill prices are down nearly 25%. Under the change, stocks held beyond the initial 15 days must come only from sugar imported under the Advance Authorisation Scheme (AAS) or Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ), and the rule applies to industrial users consuming more than 10 metric tonnes (MT) a month.

Tyson Foods and eight major pork processors agreed to pay $117 million to settle a class action. The lawsuit alleged the companies exchanged competitively sensitive information through Agri Stats to coordinate pork prices and supply, in violation of antitrust law. Tyson will pay the largest share, $85 million. The settlement covers consumers who indirectly bought pork products between 2014 and 2018, and all defendants deny wrongdoing.

A US jury found in favor of Stratasys in its patent infringement lawsuit against Bambu Lab, awarding about $27.6 million in damages. The verdict determined that Bambu Lab infringed four patents related to desktop 3D printing. Bambu Lab said it will appeal the decision. Stratasys filed the case in August 2024 and initially alleged infringement of ten patents.

Anthropic is expected to go public later this year at a valuation of about US$2 trillion, and could file with the SEC as early as this month. That would put it ahead of OpenAI, whose CEO has said the company plans to delay an IPO until 2027. OpenAI is also in talks with investors to raise a new funding round at a valuation of at least US$1.2 trillion.

A U.S. federal judge has made public a detailed remedies framework in Google’s ad tech antitrust case, though the specific terms have not yet been disclosed. Alphabet shares edged higher on Thursday, as investors’ initial reaction to the potential remedy appeared muted.