4:22pm: Stocks retreat
US stocks finished Monday’s session firmly in the red as investors revised their rate cut expectations on the back of stronger-than-expected jobs data.
The Nasdaq was down 1.2% at 17,923 points, the S&P 500 was down 1% at 5,695 points, and the Dow Jones shed 1% at 41,954 points.
2:58pm: Chipmakers take off
Super Micro Computer Inc (NASDAQ:SMCI) shares surged more than 15% after the chipmaker revealed strong shipments of its graphics processing units (GPUs) driven by AI demand.
The company said it is currently shipping more than 100,000 graphics processors per quarter.
It also unveiled a new suite of liquid cooling products that can help AI firms cut their data center energy costs.
The update also boosted rival chipmaker Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA, ETR:NVD), which added 3.6% at about $129
1:12pm: Oil surges
Equities traded lower as oil prices continued to gain, with Brent crude passing $80 per barrel amid heightened Middle East tensions.
“Oil prices are continuing to rise on expectations of a much tighter outlook for supply and demand,” IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp commented.
“Having had a couple of months focusing on US job market weakness, we could be pivoting back to inflation-watching, though the spike is unlikely to show up much in this week’s data.”
The Dow Jones traded down 0.6% at 42,115 points, the Nasdaq shed 0.5% at 18,054 points, and the S&P 500 was down 0.4% at 5,727 points.
11:32am: Acquisitions on deck
Arcadium Lithium PLC (NYSE:ALTM, ASX:LTM) shares surged almost 30% to about $4 on reports that Rio Tinto Ltd (LSE:RIO, ASX:RIO, OTC:RTNTF) has made a takeover offer to the lithium chemical producer.
"The approach is non-binding and there is no certainty that any transaction will be agreed to or will proceed," Rio Tinto said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Canadian Natural Resources Limited (TSX:CNQ) is acquiring Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX, ETR:CHV)'s Alberta assets for $6.5 billion.
Canadian Natural Resources is purchasing Chevron’s 20% interest in the Athabasca Oil Sands Project, bringing its stake in the project to 90%, and its 70% operated working interest in Duvernay shale.
9.53am: Stocks drop at open
Wall Street suffered a negative start as trading got underway on a quiet Monday ahead of the start of the third-quarter earnings season later in the week.
The Nasdaq dipped 0.4% following the bell, while the Dow Jones and S&P 500 each fell by 0.3%.
This follows a strong showing across the board last Friday on better-than-expected non-farm payroll data, which prompted bets over further steep rate cuts to be scaled back.
Attention this week is set to be on Thursday’s inflation data before third-quarter earnings season gets underway at the end of the week.
“Investors might be holding out for more data points to support the suggestion that an economic downturn can be avoided,” AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould commented, after Friday’s figures showed 254,000 jobs were added across the US economy in September.
7.32am: Wall Street seen lower
Futures showed Wall Street facing a tough start to the week as third-quarter earnings season rapidly approached and after strong jobs data late last week saw stocks rally.
The Nasdaq was seen shedding 0.6% ahead of Monday’s opening bell, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones set to fall by around 0.5% each.
Better than expected non-farm payroll data on Friday had shown the US economy added far more jobs than expected in September, in turn driving stocks higher late in the week.
Attention on Monday turned to third-quarter earnings season though, with Wall Street banks JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM, ETR:CMC), Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC, ETR:NWT) and BlackRock Inc (NYSE:BLK) set to kick off proceedings with updates on Friday.
Ahead of what looked to be a cautious start prior to the busier reporting period, Deutsche Bank analysts noted S&P 500 earnings growth was expected to slow from 11.8% to 9% between the second and third quarters.
This is set to be “driven by a narrow group of sectors such as energy, mega-cap growth and tech,” Deutsche said.
Goldman Sachs analysts raised expectations for S&P 500 earnings growth for 2025 in the meantime, forecasting a collective 11% increase to US$268 per share.