US close: Stocks mixed as investors scale back risk appetite

(Sharecast News) - US stocks finished mixed on Monday, with Wall Street indices continuing to trade within a narrow range as stocks remain near record highs - though news of major tech contract wins, mergers and acquisitions were keeping investors busy during the session.

The Dow fell 0.5%, slipping for the third time in the past four days as it pulls back from a record high of 46,706.37 on 28 October. However, the S&P 500 gained 0.2% and the Nasdaq rose 0.5%, with both back near their all-time highs reached last week.

"A degree of tiredness is creeping into Wall Street's mood despite the strong performance thus far in earnings season," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG. "OpenAI's deal with Amazon has helped, but it can't deliver such surprises every day. As volatility rises once again, it looks like stocks could be in for a bumpier ride."

Investor focus was also locked in on Washington DC on Monday, with the US federal government shutdown, which has delayed several key economic data releases, now entering its 33rd day. Nevertheless, two major non-governmental datapoints were released during the session, painting contrasting pictures of the US manufacturing sector.

S&P Global's US manufacturing PMI rose to 52.5 in October, ahead of preliminary estimates of 52.2 and up from 52.0 in September, marking a third consecutive month of growth, driven by faster output and the strongest rise in new orders in nearly two years. However, export orders declined for a fourth straight month, falling at the sharpest pace since July amid weaker trade flows with Canada, China, Europe and Mexico.

In contrast, the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing PMI fell to 48.7 in October from 49.1 in September, missing expectations of 49.5 and marking an eighth straight month of contraction. Production slipped to 48.2 from 51, with further declines seen in new orders, employment and inventories. Price pressures eased, however, with the index falling to 58 from 61.9.

Elsewhere, market participants were keeping a keen eye on the Supreme Court, which was expected to hear oral arguments on legality of White House's tariffs, and signs of easing trade tensions between Washington and Beijing.

Market movers

Amazon shares shot higher on Monday after it announced a multi-year strategic partnership that provides Amazon Web Services' infrastructure to run and scale OpenAI's core AI workloads. Under the new $38bn agreement, OpenAI will access AWS compute, which comprises hundreds of thousands of Nvidia GPUs, with the ability to expand to tens of millions of CPUs.

Microsoft finished slightly lower as investors digested some major news announcements from the tech titan. In a blog post, the company announced plans to invest a further $8bn in the United Arab Emirates over the next four years, and securing US government approval to export Nvidia chips to build AI-focused data centres.

Markets were also reacting to the news of a $9.7bn deal between data centre operator Iren to provide Microsoft with access to Nvidia's advanced GB300 GPUs. Iren finished 12% higher while Nvidia gained 2%.

SM Energy finished firmly in the red after the news that the US shale gas producer is to merge with peer Civitas Resources in a $12.8bn deal. The tie-up will create a leading oil and gas company with around 823,000 acres spread across America's highest-return shale basins, including the Permian and Denver-Julesburg.

Investors also gave a cool reaction to an M&A announcement from Kimberly-Clark, which shares falling 15% after the acquisition of consumer health firm Kenvue in a $48.7bn cash and stock deal.

Tesla gained 3% as investors shrugged off the news that the automaker experienced significant sales declines in many European markets in October, particularly Scandinavia. New car registrations for Tesla models were down 50% in Norway, 86% in Denmark and 89% in Sweden, according to domestic sales data.

Dow Jones - Risers

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $74.45 1.83%

Boeing Co. (BA) $204.55 1.76%

Walmart Inc. (WMT) $101.64 0.41%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $261.39 0.36%

American Express Co. (AXP) $361.74 0.25%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $82.49 -4.06%

Nike Inc. (NKE) $62.65 -3.00%

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $23.22 -2.60%

3M Co. (MMM) $162.08 -2.59%

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $154.04 -2.33%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $333.79 -2.27%

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $147.87 -1.56%

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $186.00 -1.38%

Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $67.97 -1.35%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $39.50 -1.23%

S&P 500 - Risers

CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $11.83 15.08%

Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $722.94 14.84%

Incyte Corp. (INCY) $101.57 8.65%

Affiliated Mgrs Group (AMG) $255.80 7.82%

CIGNA Corp. (CI) $258.62 5.81%

Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $125.75 5.68%

Flowserve Corp. (FLS) $71.97 5.27%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $158.02 5.20%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $234.70 4.88%

Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $254.00 4.00%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $59.92 -7.72%

Dxc Technology Company (DXC) $13.24 -6.55%

FMC Corp. (FMC) $14.19 -6.46%

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (BHF) $53.54 -6.19%

Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $222.20 -4.98%

LKQ Corporation (LKQ) $30.43 -4.79%

International Paper Co. (IP) $36.93 -4.43%

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. (ARE) $55.66 -4.35%

Hershey Foods Corp. (HSY) $161.68 -4.32%

TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $15.40 -4.11%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $722.94 14.84%

Incyte Corp. (INCY) $101.57 8.65%

Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $125.75 5.68%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $158.02 5.20%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $234.70 4.88%

Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $254.00 4.00%

Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $265.55 3.78%

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $468.37 2.59%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $161.24 2.40%

Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $64.61 2.23%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $11.38 -5.56%

Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $222.20 -4.98%

Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $11.00 -3.42%

T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $203.32 -3.20%

Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $26.98 -3.07%

O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $91.70 -2.90%

Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $119.99 -2.87%

Fiserv Inc. (FI) $65.53 -2.32%

Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $215.61 -2.00%

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $362.55 -1.92%