The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the other major stock indexes rallied Monday, with Amazon.com managing to post a gain despite a major Amazon Web Services outage. Meanwhile, Apple was among Warren Buffett stocks that flirted with buy points on the stock market today.
Markets started the week strong, hoping to keep the momentum going from recent days. The Dow jumped more than 500 points, or 1.1%. Salesforce and Apple fared best among blue chips, with each rising 4% to 5% .
Walmart and Home Depot lagged, with each falling nearly 1%. Nvidia also ended up being one of the few Dow laggards with its fractional decline.
The Nasdaq composite fared best among the major indexes with a lift of 1.4%. ON Semiconductor shined on the tech-heavy index with a surge of 4.5%. Shopify and Trade Desk also impressed by rallying 4% to 5% each.
Technology, IBD 50 Shine
The S&P 500 made a 1.1% advance. Top performers here included Super Micro Computer and Expand Energy, each of which climbed roughly 6%. Seagate Technology and Oracle paced the decliners, with each down nearly 5%.
The benchmark index's sectors were nearly all higher. Communication services and technology were the strongest while only consumer staples and utilities ended in negative territory. Volume was lower vs. Friday on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq, according to early data.
Small caps also gave the bears a black eye, with the Russell 2000 jumping 2%. Growth stocks were well in front despite coming off highs, with the Innovator IBD 50 exchange traded fund up 1.7%
The 10-year Treasury yield slipped three basis points to 3.98%. Oil prices edged lower, with West Texas intermediate futures down a fraction near $57.45 per barrel.
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Warren Buffett Stocks Eye Entries
Apple was not the only Warren Buffett stock making bullish moves on the stock market today. Several other equities held by his firm Berkshire Hathaway were nearing entries.
Payments stock American Express added 0.8% Monday and is getting extended past a cup base entry of 329.14, MarketSurge analysis shows. However, it has also climbed just above an alternate entry of 349.19.
Overall performance is solid, with its IBD Composite Rating sitting at 90 out of 99. Earnings in particular are a strength, which is reflected in its EPS Rating of 94.
Berkshire owned 151.61 million shares at the most recent count, a stake currently worth around $53 billion.
Another Buffett stock, Bank of America, gained 1.4% Monday and now is slightly extended past a flat-base buy point of 49.30. This could yet pull back into the actionable zone, however a higher alternate entry of 52.88 is also in play.
Earnings are seen rising 18% this year for the money center bank, while growth is expected to slow to 15% in 2026.
And a third Buffett holding, aerospace parts play Heico, up nearly 2% Monday, is forming a flat base with an ideal buy point of 338.92. This is an early-stage base, a plus.
All-around performance is formidable, with its Composite Rating sitting at 95. It is among the top 29% of issues in terms of price performance over the past 12 months. But it is outpacing the S&P 500 this year with a lift of nearly 32%.
3:09 p.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Nvidia Eyes Entry Amid U.S. Milestone
One stock that is never far away from the headlines is Nvidia. And the artificial intelligence stock was eyeing a buy point Monday after finding bullish support.
While the stock was making a slender gain Monday, the fact it is rising after getting support at the key 50-day moving average is encouraging. It is now getting closer to a flat-base buy point of 184.48, according to MarketSurge analysis. This is an early-stage pattern, a bonus.
Overall performance is top-notch, with Nvidia stock holding a best-possible IBD Composite Rating of 99. Strong fundamental performance is a key feature, and earnings are seen rising 51% in fiscal 2026 before slowing to 43% growth the following year.
The stock was rising after the company unveiled the first Blackwell wafer produced on U.S. soil Friday. It was made at the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing plant in Phoenix.
"This is the vision of President Trump of reindustrialization — to bring back manufacturing to America, to create jobs, of course. But also, this is the single most vital manufacturing industry and the most important technology industry in the world," Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang said in a written statement.
Taiwan Semiconductor was also making progress on the stock market today. It rose more than 1% and remains well extended from its most recent entry.
2:05 p.m. ET
Gold Stocks Shine As Previous Metal Pops
The gold mining industry group got hit hard Friday, but found support at its 21-day exponential moving average. But it got support on the stock market today by rallying back almost 2%, though the 10-day line is acting as an area of resistance for now.
Stocks in the group got a boost after the precious metal itself rose more than 3% to around $4,359 per ounce Monday.
Equities focused on the space also rose. The SPDR Gold Shares ETF rose nearly 3% while Wheaton Precious Metals gained 1%. Both of these are members of the IBD Leaderboard list of top stocks.
Underlining the gains made by gold in 2025, the SPDR Gold Shares fund is up about 65% for the year. It has also cleared its 25% profit target from a 317.63 flat-base entry.
Agnico Eagle Mines, which is well extended, rose 1.5% while Kinross Gold popped 2.5%. Kinross Gold stock is rebounding from its 21-day exponential moving average.
Triple Flag Precious Metals rallied more than 3%. It moved further clear of a four-weeks-tight entry of 29.30.
The latter three gold plays are members of the IBD Sector Leaders list. This is IBD's most stringent screen.
1:01 p.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Cooper Jumps On Activist Move
One stock that was outperforming the broader market on the stock market today was Cooper Companies. The stock jumped nearly 5% on the news activist Jana Partners has built up a stake in the medical device firm.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Jana is going to push for strategic moves, including a potential deal to combine the firm's contact lens unit with rival Bausch + Lomb.
But while Cooper stock rallied, it remains down more than 18% for the year. And while it jumped away from its 50-day line, it remains rooted below the 200-day moving average, a bearish look.
Overall performance for Cooper stock is reflected in its IBD Composite Rating of 48 out of 99. Earnings performance is stronger though, with its Earnings Per Share Rating sitting at 85. But full-year earnings are only seen rising 11% this year before slowing to 8% growth in 2026.
Bausch + Lomb rose 5% and is trading near the top of a buy zone from a flat-base entry of 15.13, MarketSurge analysis shows.
However, its IBD Composite Rating comes in at just 18, which means investors following The IBD Methodology should steer clear of this equity.
11:53 a.m. ET
Amazon Up Despite Outage
Many major websites were hit after Amazon Web Services, or AWS, suffered an outage. But this did not stop Amazon.com climbing on the stock market today.
AWS is a key part of the infrastructure of the modern internet. And many websites were hit after the firm suffered Domain Name System issues with its database service DynamoDB. This is an important plank for other AWS applications. The company says it is working to fix the issues.
There were increased error rates for multiple AWS services in its US-East-1 region shortly after 3 a.m. ET, but most operations were recovered by 7 a.m.
Companies affected included Amazon itself, Walt Disney McDonald's, Reddit and Robinhood Markets. A number of British government websites also experienced issues.
It underlines how widely the internet can be affected due to the fact Amazon and Microsoft, through its Azure platform, are such major service providers.
Amazon stock was up around 1% on the stock market today. It sits below its 50-day moving average, but is forming a flat base with an ideal buy point of 238.85 according to MarketSurge analysis.
Stock Market Today: Apple Clears Entry
Meanwhile, fellow Magnificent Seven stock Apple broke out above a consolidation entry of 260.10. This is an first-stage pattern, a bonus.
It is also above an alternate entry of 259.24. The stock is pulling away from its 50-day moving average and its relative strength line is making progress.
Apple is on track to nail down a new all-time closing high, according to Dow Jones data. This would be the first record close since Dec. 26, when it closed at 259.02.
Overall performance is strong, but not quite ideal. This reflected in the IBD Composite Rating of 89 out of 99 for Apple stock. Earnings are seen rising 9% both this year and next.
10:57 a.m. ET
Cleveland-Cliffs Soars On Rare-Earths Move
One stock that was outperforming the broader market in morning trade was steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs.
The firm rocketed after posting a narrower-than-expected loss for the third quarter while revenue rose for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2023, but the 4% gain to $4.734 billion, was shy of the $4.896 billion consensus.
CEO Lourenco Goncalves said in a news release that the results show there is a "clear sign of demand recovery for automotive-grade steel made in the U.S." But the true catalyst for the sharp upward thrust was the company's move into the rare-earths space.
The firm is looking at mining sites in Michigan and Minnesota that show key indicators of rare-earth minerals. Goncalves said this would "align Cleveland-Cliffs with the broader national strategy for critical material independence, similar to what we achieved in steel."
The rare-earths space is dominated by China, which has used it as a source of leverage in trade negotiations with the U.S. It enacted restrictions on the export of products with rare-earth materials in response to tariffs.
Cleveland-Cliffs surged nearly 19% on the stock market today despite coming off opening highs. It blasted above its 20% profit target from a cup base entry of 11.96, MarketSurge analysis shows.
9:54 a.m. ET
Nasdaq 100 Winners, Losers: Micron, AppLovin
Among the Nasdaq 100 stocks, IBD Leaderboard stock Micron Technology and Lululemon Athletica each rallied more than 4%, placing them among the best stocks of the day. Micron shares climbed after Barclays lifted the stock's price target to 240 from 195 while maintaining an overweight rating.
Meanwhile, AppLovin sold off nearly 4% in early trading.
8:50 a.m. ET
Dow Jones Movers: Apple, Boeing, Nvidia
Inside the blue chip index, Apple shares climbed nearly 2%, on pace to extend Friday's gains. Shares are rapidly approaching a 259.24 buy point. Boeing stock rallied 1.5%, but is still below its 50-day moving average.
On the downside, Nvidia edged lower, threatening to snap a two-day winning streak. Shares remain below their recent buy point at 184.48.
8:05 a.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Netflix, Tesla Earnings Due
Netflix and Tesla rose ahead of this week's earnings reports.
Netflix added 0.2% Monday morning, looking to add to Friday's 1.3% gain. Shares are below their 50-day moving average following a recent five-day losing streak.
Netflix is expected to report its third-quarter results late Tuesday. Analysts will focus on Netflix's progress in scaling its advertising-supported service, a key growth area.
FactSet polls expect earnings of $6.96 a share on sales of $11.51 billion in the September quarter — gains of 29% and 17%. Popular Netflix content during the quarter included the second season of "Wednesday," the third season of "Squid Game" and movie "KPop Demon Hunters."
Meanwhile, Tesla stock climbed 1% premarket Monday. Shares of the electric-vehicle giant are 10% from new highs.
Tesla is set to report third-quarter earnings after the stock market closes Wednesday. Investors await Chief Executive Elon Musk's comments on the robotaxi rollout and the outlook for new vehicles and sales heading into the fourth quarter and 2026. Analysts predict third-quarter earnings falling 26% to 54 cents a share with sales increasing about 4% to $26.27 billion.
Other key earnings reports include Lockheed Martin, GE Aerospace, RTX and Northrop Grumman.
Stock Market Today: U.S.-China Talks, CPI Inflation Data
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said late Friday that he will meet with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng sometime this week to try to back off escalatory measures on both sides. Bessent said he held a "frank and detailed" virtual conversation with He on Friday evening.
China this month announced stricter export curbs on rare earths as well as components for EV batteries, spurring President Donald Trump to announce a 100% extra tariff on Chinese goods set to start on Nov. 1.
Elsewhere, the government shutdown could last a while longer, but the shortage of official economic data gets a brief reprieve Friday. The consumer price index for September is expected to show a 0.3% rise in the core prices, excluding food and energy, according to FactSet. The headline 12-month inflation rate is forecast to rise to 3.1% from 2.9%.
The Labor Department says it will put out Consumer Price Index figures during the shutdown, only because it's needed to determine Social Security cost-of-living adjustments.
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