{"id":73834,"date":"2026-10-29T15:08:19","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T19:08:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/u-s-economy-surges-3-4-in-q3-as-polymarket-halts-trading-amid-security-breach\/73834\/"},"modified":"2026-10-29T15:08:19","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T19:08:19","slug":"u-s-economy-surges-3-4-in-q3-as-polymarket-halts-trading-amid-security-breach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/u-s-economy-surges-3-4-in-q3-as-polymarket-halts-trading-amid-security-breach\/73834\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Economy Surges 3.4% in Q3 as Polymarket Halts Trading Amid Security Breach"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>U.S. GDP grew at a robust 3.4% annualized rate in Q3 2026<\/strong>, significantly outperforming the 2.2% growth seen in Q2 and beating 72% of economist forecasts.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Polymarket temporarily halted trading<\/strong> on its international platform after a third-party provider compromise led to an estimated <strong>$2.65 million exploit<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock\/NVDA\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"15\" title=\"stock: NVDA\">Nvidia<\/a> (<a href=\"\/stock\/NVDA\">NVDA<\/a>) CEO Jensen Huang<\/strong> addressed reports of a Chinese espionage attempt, clarifying that ties to the firm <strong>MegaSpeed<\/strong> were &quot;normal&quot; and denying any diversion of chips to China.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Geopolitical tensions escalated<\/strong> as reports surfaced of U.S. plans for military strikes against <strong>Iran<\/strong> following next week&#39;s midterm elections, with potential use of <strong>MOAB<\/strong> munitions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Economic Growth Hits 3.4% Ahead of Midterms<\/h2>\n<p>The U.S. economy expanded at a <strong>3.4% annualized rate<\/strong> in the third quarter of 2026, according to data released Thursday by the Commerce Department. This growth marks a sharp acceleration from the <strong>2.2% rate<\/strong> recorded in the second quarter and exceeded the Blue Chip consensus forecast of 2.4%. <strong>President Donald Trump<\/strong> lauded the figures on Truth Social, noting that the numbers beat the expectations of <strong>72% of economists<\/strong> and highlighted a <strong>21% surge<\/strong> in investment for new equipment.<\/p>\n<p>Consumer spending remained a primary driver of the &quot;booming&quot; economy, alongside record levels of business investment in <strong>artificial intelligence<\/strong> and manufacturing infrastructure. Despite the positive data, the President issued a stern warning to voters ahead of next week&#39;s midterm elections, claiming that a Democratic victory would &quot;burn it all down.&quot; <em>Market analysts suggest the strong GDP print provides a significant tailwind for Republican candidates, though stubbornly high energy costs remain a concern for voters.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Polymarket Halted After $2.65 Million Exploit<\/h2>\n<p>Prediction market leader <strong>Polymarket<\/strong> suspended trading on its international platform Thursday following a security breach involving a third-party provider. On-chain data from Arkham identified a wallet associated with the attacker holding approximately <strong>$2.65 million in POL tokens<\/strong>. The platform has been placed in <strong>&quot;cancel-only&quot; mode<\/strong>, meaning users can pull existing orders but cannot execute new trades while the investigation continues.<\/p>\n<p>In an official statement, <strong>Polymarket<\/strong> confirmed the issue has been identified and fixed, and the matter has been referred to law enforcement. The company emphasized that <strong>&quot;anyone impacted will be made whole,&quot;<\/strong> echoing a similar pledge made after a frontend breach in June. <em>The incident has raised fresh questions regarding the security of decentralized finance (DeFi) frontends and the risks posed by third-party vendor integrations.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Nvidia CEO Refutes Espionage Allegations<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock\/NVDA\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"15\" title=\"stock: NVDA\">Nvidia<\/a> (<a href=\"\/stock\/NVDA\">NVDA<\/a>) CEO <strong>Jensen Huang<\/strong> responded to a <em>New York Times<\/em> report alleging he was the target of a Chinese intelligence operation. The report suggested that <strong>Alice Huang<\/strong>, an executive at Singapore-based <strong>MegaSpeed<\/strong>, was a Chinese asset who developed a close relationship with the CEO to gather commercial intel. <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock\/NVDA\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"15\" title=\"stock: NVDA\">Nvidia<\/a> (<a href=\"\/stock\/NVDA\">NVDA<\/a>) dismissed these claims, stating that interactions with MegaSpeed were <strong>&quot;routine business engagements&quot;<\/strong> and that no sensitive trade secrets or national security information were shared.<\/p>\n<p>The company further clarified that <strong>MegaSpeed<\/strong> did not divert advanced AI chips to China, noting that such allegations were &quot;thoroughly investigated and debunked last year.&quot; <em>Despite the controversy, <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock\/NVDA\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"15\" title=\"stock: NVDA\">Nvidia<\/a> (<a href=\"\/stock\/NVDA\">NVDA<\/a>) shares remained resilient as the company continues to dominate the global AI infrastructure market, which contributed to nearly half of the <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/indices\/sp500\/today\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"snp500 today\">S&amp;P 500<\/a>&#39;s earnings growth this year.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>U.S. Prepares for Post-Election Strikes on Iran<\/h2>\n<p>Military tensions in the Middle East reached a new peak as reports from <em>Newsmax<\/em> and other outlets indicated the U.S. is positioning assets for <strong>strikes against Iran<\/strong> following the November 3 midterm elections. Officials suggest the administration is planning a high-intensity campaign targeting nuclear facilities, missile sites, and energy infrastructure. There is specific speculation regarding the use of the <strong>Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB)<\/strong>, particularly against fortified underground sites like <strong>Pickaxe Mountain<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>President Trump has reportedly held off on major combat operations to avoid market volatility before the elections but has signaled that &quot;all options are open&quot; to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. <em>The prospect of renewed conflict has already contributed to a 38% increase in gasoline prices this year, weighing heavily on consumer sentiment despite the broader economic expansion.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways U.S. GDP grew at a robust 3.4% annualized rate in Q3 2026, significantly outperforming the 2.2% growth seen 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