U.S. stocks diverged at midday Monday as a rebound in AI chip and infrastructure names lifted the Nasdaq 100 by 1.7% and the S&P 500 by 0.7%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average hovered at the flat line.
The bounce follows a rough week in which the Nasdaq shed more than 4%, while chip stocks lost nearly 10%.
Fed Chair Warsh declined to preview next week's FOMC decision, saying recent hot inflation readings have not changed his assessment of the economy, even as markets price roughly an 80% chance of an October hold.
The 10-year Treasury yield rose about 6 basis points to 5.14%, after falling nearly 15 basis points last week.
Across U.S. equity markets by midday Monday, gains were concentrated in technology. The S&P 500 advanced 51 points to 7,711, while the Dow Jones slipped 6 points to 51,996, with defensive and rate-sensitive groups lagging.
The Nasdaq 100 climbed 511 points to 29,699, but remains about 2.3% below its September close. Within Magnificent Seven stocks, Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) gained 4.9% to $262.32. The Russell 2000 rose 0.6% to 2,736.
AI semiconductor names led the charge: Intel Corp. (INTC) gained 5.0% as JP Morgan upgraded the stock to Neutral, while Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) added 5.4%.
Memory names rallied after last week's rout. Micron Technology Inc. (MU) climbed about 4%, SanDisk Corp. (SNDK) soared nearly 7% while SK Hynix Inc. (SKHY) gained about 6%. Optical names were also bid, with Marvell Technology Inc. (MRVL) soaring 7.3%.
Monday's Performance in Major US Indices
| Index | Last | % Change | MTD | YTD |
|---|
| S&P 500 | 7,710.86 | +0.67% | +0.78% | +12.64% |
| Dow Jones | 51,996.26 | -0.01% | +2.14% | +8.18% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 29,698.65 | +1.75% | -2.33% | +17.62% |
| Russell 2000 | 2,736.43 | +0.55% | -2.16% | +10.26% |
Updated by 12:10 PM ET
According to market data:
- The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) gained 0.7%.
- The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) was little changed, slipping less than 0.1%.
- The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) climbed 1.7%.
- The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) rose 0.5%.
Tech Rebounds as Rate-Sensitive Sectors Slide
Technology led the S&P 500 sectors, with the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) up 2.0%, followed by the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY), which gained 1.6%.
At the other end, the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLU) fell 1.6% and the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLRE) lost 1.2% as Treasury yields rose.
The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV), Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) and Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) each slipped about 0.8%.
Among industry funds, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) jumped 3.0% and the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) gained 1.9%, while the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) fell 1.3% as gold futures eased about 0.5% to roughly $4,160 an ounce.
The SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME) added 0.7%.
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (CLF) was the top gainer in the Russell 1000, surging 16.0% to $14.06 after third-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.28 topped the $0.21 consensus.
Adjusted EBITDA came in at $612 million, and management guided to more than $700 million in the fourth quarter and over $4 billion next year, citing tariff-supported steel prices and volumes.
Applied Digital Corp. (APLD) rose 10.2% to $19.89, with TeraWulf Inc. (WULF) and IREN Ltd. (IREN) up roughly 6% each. The move reflects a bounce in power-backed data center names after last week's selloff tied to financing concerns.
FormFactor Inc. (FORM) gained 8.4% to $113.78, moving in line with semiconductor-equipment peers such as Teradyne Inc. (TER), which rose 6.6%.
