U.S. stocks were mixed by midday Monday as a rebound in the beaten-down chip sector reignited the AI-infrastructure trade.
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.
| 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 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%.
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:
| 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% |
| Name | % change |
|---|---|
| Tempus AI Inc. | -8.0% |
| AAON Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON) | -6.7% |
| UWM Holdings Corp. (NYSE:UWMC) | -6.2% |
| Bloom Energy Corp. | -5.6% |
| CAVA Group Inc. (NYSE:CAVA) | -4.7% |
Image: Shutterstock