Published September 22, 2026 Updated about 3 hours ago By Reuters NEW YORK: The main US stock indexes advanced on Monday, powered by gains in AI firms, as Treasury yields eased and crude prices tumbled more than 3 percent to hit an 11-day low on the prospect of a breakthrough in Middle East talks at a UN meeting this week. Investors took comfort from data that suggested spending on AI was still expanding, placating concerns around doomsday warnings from the leaders of AI giants a week ago that triggered a global tech selloff. Chip companies rallied. Intel rose 13 percent, Advanced Micro Devices surged 9.3 percent to become the latest chipmaker to reach USD1 trillion in market valuation, while Micron gained 2.3 percent. Meta soared 6.7 percent to a more than seven-month high after brokerage Wells Fargo hiked its price target on the stock, while Accenture gained 3.2 percent after partnering with Anthropic to invest USD2 billion in AI evaluation. “The excitement in the build-out and adoption of AI has really driven a lot of the growth in corporate profits and a lot of the gains in the stock market over the past few years,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Northlight Asset Management. “Is there going to be a trade-off between safety and productivity benefits?…