U.S. stocks were mixed by midday Monday as a rebound in the beaten-down chip sector reignited the AI-infrastructure trade.
- The S&P 500 rose about 0.3% to near 7,482
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped roughly 0.2% to around 52,025
- The Nasdaq 100 outperformed with a 0.4% advance as chipmakers bounced off last week’s lows
- Treasury yields firmed as the oil-driven inflation angle stayed in focus. The 10-year yield rose about 4 basis points to 4.61%, recovering part of last week’s 7-basis-point decline, while the five-year climbed to 4.34%.
Markets are also pricing in one Fed rate hike this year. The odds of a September move are holding above 60% ahead of next week’s FOMC meeting, where policymakers are widely expected to stay on hold.
West Texas Intermediate crude held near $82.60 a barrel, roughly flat on the day but clinging to five-week highs after last week’s near-5% surge.
In precious metals, gold was little changed near $4,012 an ounce. Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was up 1.5% to $65,300.
Monday’s Performance In Major US Indices
| Index | Last | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 | 7,482.12 | +0.3% |
| Dow Jones | 52,024.77 | -0.2% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 28,715.27 | +0.4% |
| Russell 2000 | 2,957.45 | -0.2% |
According to Benzinga Pro:
- The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) gained 0.3%.
- The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (NYSE:DIA) slipped 0.2%.
- The Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) climbed 0.4%.
- The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) fell 0.2%.
Chips And AI Infrastructure Spark The Rebound
The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLK) led the S&P 500 with a 0.9% gain, followed closely by the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE), up 0.8% alongside firm crude, and the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLC), up 0.8% on Alphabet’s strength. Rate-sensitive and defensive corners lagged, with materials, real estate, utilities, consumer staples and health care all in the red.
The rebound was concentrated in the AI-hardware complex. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SMH) rose 1.7% to pace industry groups
Chip bellwethers rallied, with Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) up 3.4% and Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) surging 5.7%.
Stock Market Standout
IREN Ltd. (NASDAQ:IREN) soared more than 19% after signing $2.8 billion in new multi-year AI Cloud contracts with a customer roster that includes Microsoft, Nvidia and Perplexity, prompting the company to lift its year-end AI cloud annual recurring revenue target above $4 billion.
The deal lit up adjacent data-center and power names. Applied Digital Corp. (NASDAQ:APLD), for example, jumped 8.3% in sympathy with no company-specific catalyst of its own. Galaxy Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GLXY) rose 10.4% and nuclear developer X-Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XE) gained 9.3%.
Optical supplier Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LITE) climbed 8.0%, extending an AI-optics run after Citi recently added an upside catalyst-watch on the shares.
On the downside, Tempus AI Inc. (NASDAQ:TEM) dropped 8.0% amid a reported CEO-linked insider share sale.
Bloom Energy Corp. (NYSE:BE) lost 5.6%, extending its drawdown from June’s peak to over 40%.
Stocks reacting to earnings reports included:
- Domino’s Pizza Inc. (NASDAQ:DPZ) rose 3.2% to around $332 after Q2 revenue of $1.19 billion topped estimates, even though adjusted EPS of $4.07 missed the $4.26.
- AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (NYSE:AMC) jumped roughly 13% to near $2.20 after posting record quarterly revenue of $1.6 billion, up 14.2%, a surprise $0.14 profit versus a forecast loss, and a 70% jump in adjusted EBITDA to $321.4 million.
- AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) was in focus ahead of its results due after Monday’s close, with investors watching book value and the dividend as yields backed up.
Monday’s Russell 1000 Top Gainers
| Name | % change |
|---|---|
| IREN Ltd. | +19.5% |
| Galaxy Digital Inc. | +10.4% |
| X-Energy Inc. | +9.3% |
| Applied Digital Corp. | +8.3% |
| Lumentum Holdings Inc. | +8.0% |
Monday’s Russell 1000 Top Losers
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