The Nasdaq concluded the trading session predominantly in the green, with S&P 500 closing in positive territory, as investors returned to artificial intelligence stocks in response to a series of newly announced deals. However, the Dow concluded the trading session with a decline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced a decline of 0.5%, translating to a decrease of 226.19 points, concluding the session at 47,336.68 points. The S&P 500 experienced an increase of 0.2%, translating to a rise of 11.77 points, concluding the session at 6,851.97 points. Stocks in the consumer discretionary and technology sectors experienced the most significant increases. The Technology Select Sector SPDR gained 0.4%, while the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR rose 0.9%. Six of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index concluded in negative territory. The tech-heavy Nasdaq experienced an increase of 0.5%, translating to 109.77 points, concluding the session at 23,834.72.

The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as the fear gauge, experienced a decline of 1.55%, settling at 17.17. On the NYSE, the ratio of decliners to advancers stood at 1.34-to-1. On the Nasdaq, a ratio of 1.6-to-1 indicated a preference for declining issues. On Monday, the trading volume reached 19.62 billion shares, which is below the 20-session average of 21.11 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, the market recorded 1,799 new highs alongside 2,887 new lows. On the New York Stock Exchange, there were 202 instances of new highs and 142 instances of new lows. Markets commenced the week with an optimistic outlook, propelled by technology stocks that led the rally, as a series of AI-related transactions enhanced investor confidence. Monday’s rally was led by Amazon.com, Inc. after the company announced that it struck a $38 billion deal with OpenAI, allowing the ChatGPT creator to operate and expand its AI workloads using Amazon Web Services’ cloud platform.

The deal will also see thousands of NVIDIA Corporation’s GPU chips being utilized in the process. Amazon’s shares experienced a 4% increase, whereas NVIDIA saw a rise of 2.2%. NVIDIA holds a Zacks Rank of 2, indicating a Buy recommendation. In another significant transaction on Monday, data center company IREN Limited finalized a deal valued at $9.7 billion with Microsoft Corporation, granting the tech giant access to Nvidia GB300 GPUs. IREN’s shares experienced a notable increase of 11.5%. Chip stocks received an additional uplift on Monday following Microsoft’s announcement that it has secured export licenses from the Trump administration to export NVIDIA’s chips to the UAE. In light of significant announcements from technology firms, the Dow concluded the trading session in negative territory, primarily influenced by the performance of healthcare companies that exerted downward pressure on the blue-chip index. Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated fell 2.3%, while Merck & Co., Inc. ended 4.1% lower on Monday.

The government shutdown has now extended into its second month, with a resolution appearing improbable in the near term. This situation has resulted in investors lacking access to essential economic data, complicating their ability to form a clearer understanding of the Federal Reserve’s imminent monetary policy. Nonetheless, the report from the Institute for Supply Management released on Monday indicated that the manufacturing sector persisted in its contraction. The ISM’s manufacturing PMI decreased to 48.7 in October, down from 49.1 in the previous month, marking a contraction for the eighth consecutive month. Investors processed earnings reports from a new set of companies, with over 300 of the S&P 500 firms having disclosed their quarterly results thus far.