On today's episode of Morning Brief, Hosts Seana Smith and Brad Smith analyze the market open and discuss some of the biggest stories of the trading week.

US stocks (^DJI, ^IXIC, ^GSPC) opened in negative territory, just one morning after the market rallied on the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut cycle and the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average notched new record highs. John Hancock investment management co-chief investment strategist Emily Roland explains, “It's six straight days of gains leading markets higher [and] riskier assets are really celebrating this idea that the Fed can stave off a hard landing, prevent a contraction from happening, do it proactively before we see more weakness here in the labor market."

As mega-cap tech stocks gain and September's interest rate cut sent markets higher, Raymond James Investment Management chief market strategist Matt Orton still likes the Big Tech sector: “There's plenty of reasons that clients still want to own the mega-cap technology names. Especially the high-quality ones that are generating $50 [billion], $60 [billion], $70 billion of free cash flow per year. But what I've been encouraging clients really for the past three months or so is that we have an opportunity to build better balance in our portfolios.”

Shares of Nike (NKE) are rallying after the company announced that CEO John Donahoe will be stepping down next month after a rocky five years at the company. Nike veteran Elliott Hill will come out of retirement to fill the role of CEO and president effective October 14. Barclays consumer discretionary analyst Adrienne Yih believes that Hill will prioritize relationships with wholesale retail partners as he steps into the role: "It's the base for kind of the brand strength going forward. And even though it's margin dilutive, when you're a $50 billion global footprint brand, you need both channels to be working in your favor." She argues that Hill is the right person for the job, explaining that he's well-liked at the company, and before his retirement, his positions at Nike focused on the global marketplace.

Apple's (AAPL) iPhone 16 lineup is here and consumers are already coming in droves to get their hands on the new device. Yahoo Finance anchor Josh Lipton reports live from the Fifth Avenue Apple Store in New York City where the new iPhones are already being sold, an occasion marked by CEO Tim Cook opening the doors to customers.

Investors can brace for more volatility in Friday's trading session as more than $5 trillion in options are set to expire. The event, known on Wall Street as "Triple Witching," sees contracts tied to individual stocks, indexes and exchange-traded funds expire. Yahoo Finance's Madison Mills joins Morning Brief to break down this trading phenomenon.

This post was written by Melanie Riehl