U.S. stocks were mixed at midday Monday as a selloff in AI-infrastructure names dragged the Nasdaq 100 and small caps lower, while the Dow edged higher and oil climbed back above $93 a barrel.
President Donald Trump said Monday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an “energy ceasefire” with immediate effect, a claim Moscow has not confirmed. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he learned of the deal from the media and that Russia struck a thermal power plant in Kharkiv.
Brent initially dipped toward $102 on the headline before rebounding above $106, as the truce did little to offset Middle East supply risks. Houthi strikes on Riyadh’s airport over the weekend added to the anxiety.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 2.1% to $93.78 a barrel.
Brent crude gained 1.9% to $106.76 a barrel.
By midday Monday, U.S. equity markets were split, with energy, financials and defensive sectors offsetting a technology-led drag.
The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.5% to 30,738. The S&P 500 edged up 0.1% to 7,817, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 242 points, or 0.5%, to 51,897.
The Treasury market was closed for Columbus Day, leaving the 10-year yield at Friday’s 5.24%, below the 5.36% intraday peak hit Wednesday, which market reports flagged as the highest since 2002.
Wednesday’s consumer price index is the next test, with economists expecting headline inflation to accelerate to 3.6% year over year from 3.4%.
Earnings season also picks up, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS), Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC) and Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) reporting Tuesday, followed by Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) on Wednesday.
Monday’s Performance In Major US Indices
According to the market data platform:
- The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) edged up 0.1%.
- The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (NYSE:DIA) gained 0.4%.
- The Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) slipped 0.5%.
- The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) dipped 0.1%.
Energy Rallies With Crude, AI Optical And Memory Stocks Get Hammered
The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) led S&P 500 sectors, gaining 1.4%, followed by the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLC), up 1.1%, and the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLF), up 0.7%. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLK) was the weakest, down 1.0%, while the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLY) slipped 0.2%.
Among industries, the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (NYSE:XOP) rose 1.6% and the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (NYSE:KRE) added 1.0%. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SMH) fell 1.5%, and the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX) lost 0.7%.
Optical and AI-infrastructure names led the declines in the Russell 1000.
Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LITE) dropped 9.1% and Ciena Corp. (NYSE:CIEN) fell 8.5% in a broad semiconductor and AI-infrastructure selloff, while TTM Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:TTMI) sank 9.8%. No company-specific news hit the tape for TTM Technologies or Ciena, so their moves look like sector-wide selling.
Memory stocks were also under pressure, with Sandisk Corp. (NASDAQ:SNDK) down 6.0% after Samsung and SK Hynix Inc. (NASDAQ:SKHY) each fell more than 4% and South Korea’s Kospi dropped 3.6%.
IonQ Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) slid 8.6% after announcing an all-stock acquisition of cybersecurity firm Elisity valued at up to $1.3 billion.
On the upside, CCC Intelligent Solutions Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CCC) jumped 9.2% on reports that GTCR and Elliott Investment Management are close to a deal to acquire the company.
eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) gained 5.6% after Morgan Stanley named it a top pick in the internet sector and raised its price target to $132 from $127, citing live commerce.
Manhattan Associates Inc. (NASDAQ:MANH) rose 5.5% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to Overweight from Equalweight and raised its price target to $250 from $180 on accelerating cloud bookings.
AST SpaceMobile Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) added 5.2% after Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE:DB) upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold with a $93 price target, and as its next three BlueBird satellites arrived at Cape Canaveral.
