Amazon and the AI trade sustain stock gains
Stocks kicked off what is historically their best month of the year on a positive note, with help from Amazon and AI.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 had a positive start to what is historically the best month of the year for stocks, almost exclusively powered by the AI trade as Amazon announced a $38 billion cloud computing deal with OpenAI, while the Russell 2000 fell. Consumer discretionary (which includes Amazon) and tech were the best-performing sector ETFs.
Stocks that moved higher:
Nvidia gained as two new AI deals underscored demand for its flagship chips.
Palantir notched a new record high in anticipation of today’s earnings report after the bell.
Micron, the US memory chip specialist, jumped on reports of surging prices for memory chips. Such signs of ongoing AI-related demand for IT hardware also gave a lift to other data storage device makers, such as Seagate Technology Holdings and Western Digital.
Cipher Digital soared after reporting earnings and $5.5 billion deal with Amazon to provide AI data center capacity and power.
IREN surged after announcing a five-year cloud deal with Microsoft for a total contract value of $9.7 billion.
Giant American drugmaker Kimberly-Clark is acquiring Kenvue, the maker of Tylenol whose stock has been pummeled by allegations from the Trump administration that its signature pain reliever causes autism, in a deal with an enterprise value of $48.7 billion. Kenvue rose on the news that shareholders will receive $21.01 per share in cash and stock, while Kimberly-Clark fell.
Stocks that moved lower:
Joby Aviation sank after a report of a delay for the company’s UAE certification, stoking fears that air taxis may be further away than thought. Rival Archer Aviation also fell on the news.
Beyond Meat dropped after delaying its Q3 results to November 11, citing a “material” noncash charge that the company is not yet able to reasonably quantify.
MP Materials, Lithium Americas, Critical Metals, and United States Antimony Corp. fell after the White House said that China’s rollback of export curbs goes further than previously thought.
