- The S&P 500 closed 0.58% higher to a record, topping its mid-August peak, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.45% to its own all-time high. The S&P 500 is up 14% year-to-date and the Nasdaq 18.78%.
- Tech stocks led the advance: Amazon rose 1.95%, Microsoft 0.78%, Tesla 0.51%, Apple and Alphabet 0.22% each, Nvidia 0.14%, while Meta slipped 0.41%. Marvell Technology gained 5.81% and Cisco 4.54%.
- Robust AI spending is expected to drive another strong US earnings season, keeping investors positioned for the Q3 reporting cycle.
- Investors are betting that capital pouring into data centers will earn a good return, outweighing rising interest rates, more expensive oil and a 10-year Treasury yield above 5%.
- Technology and communication services were the only two S&P 500 sectors to rise last month, while the other nine declined.
- Brent crude for December delivery stood at $101.16 a barrel, up 0.58%, as traders weighed fighting in Yemen.
Quotes
“Every bull market has a dominant theme, and technology and AI remain this market's dominant theme”
“Investors remain bullish on the prospects for AI”
“They are betting that the money pouring into data centres will earn a good return, and so far, that belief has outweighed rising interest rates, more expensive oil and a 10-year bond yield above 5 percent”
“We do not expect a straight line higher for markets”
“Still, on balance, the weight of the evidence suggests this bull market still has more upside potential”