AI worries

rattle market

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market tumbled Thursday to one of its worst days since its springtime sell-off. The S&P 500 sank 1.7% and pulled further from its all-time high set late last month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.7% from its own record set the day before, while the Nasdaq composite lost 2.3%. Nvidia and other AI superstar stocks dragged the market lower amid continued worries that their prices had shot too high.

Also hurting the market were questions about whether coming cuts to interest rates that Wall Street has been banking on will actually happen.

Contribution

limits boosted

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans will be allowed to contribute more of their money to 401(k) and similar retirement saving plans next year.

The IRS said Thursday that the maximum contribution for 401(k), 403(b), and most 457 plans will rise to $24,500, up from $23,500 this year. People aged 50 and over can make additional “catch-up” contributions, allowing them to contribute up to $32,500 annually.

The IRS also raised the annual contribution limits for IRAs to $7,500. These changes aim to help retirement savers set aside more income, especially older workers who started saving later in life.

Spacecraft

bound for Mars

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Blue Origin has launched its huge New Glenn rocket with a pair of NASA spacecraft destined for Mars.

Thursday’s successful liftoff from Florida is only the second flight of the rocket that Jeff Bezos’ company and NASA are counting on to get people and supplies to the moon.

The Mars orbiters will spend a year hanging around Earth before setting off for the red planet. They’re due to arrive in 2027.

The University of California, Berkeley runs the $80 million mission. The rocket’s inaugural test flight earlier this year reached orbit, but failed to land the booster on a barge in the Atlantic. This time, Blue Origin recovered the booster on its floating platform.