US Stock Market Live Updates: US stocks open higher as AI trade steadies, oil prices slide on US-Iran peace hopes

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Dow Jones | Nasdaq | Stock Market Live: US stocks trade higher on Monday as technology and AI stocks stabilise after a weak October. Wall Street gains support from a sharp fall in crude oil prices amid growing hopes of a US-Iran peace deal, lifting investor sentiment.

Wall Street trades higher on Monday as technology and AI-related stocks stabilise after a difficult October. A sharp decline in crude oil prices, driven by growing hopes of a US-Iran peace deal, further supports investor sentiment.

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Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has granted President Masoud Pezeshkian's government the authority to engage in peace negotiations, opening a potential diplomatic path to resolve escalating tensions with the US and Israel. Following the announcement, Brent crude futures plunged roughly 6% to around $106 a barrel as market concerns over regional energy supply disruptions temporarily eased.


While Pezeshkian did not detail the specific negotiating powers granted, an Iranian delegation has already visited Qatar to pursue a diplomatic breakthrough. However, Iranian officials maintain that Tehran will only resume formal negotiations and ease energy transit through the Strait of Hormuz after the US lifts its economic blockade.

Brent crude dropped to roughly $106 per barrel after Iran's supreme leader authorized the government to pursue negotiations that could potentially resolve the Middle East conflict and restore disrupted oil supplies.

Crude oil inventories in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell to 282.2 million barrels last week, reaching their lowest level since 1982.

Wall Street's main indexes opened higher on Monday with technology and AI-related stocks steadying after a dismal October, while risk sentiment got a lift as crude oil prices dropped sharply amid growing hopes of a US-Iran peace deal.

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- Seth Meyer, global head of client portfolio management at Janus Henderson Investors

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi stated that the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened and negotiations resumed if the United States accepts Iran's conditions, according to state news agency IRNA.

- Kiran Ganesh, multi-asset strategist at UBS Global Wealth Management

Goldman Sachs is restricting the use of certain artificial intelligence tools, according to a Bloomberg News report. Under the new policy, access to Anthropic's Claude Code and Microsoft's GitHub will be limited strictly to engineering staff, keeping them off-limits for traders and bankers.

A series of alerts from the New York Stock Exchange's daily premarket update were mistakenly assigned to Alcoa, Bark, Intercontinental Exchange, Benchmark Electronics, and Stellantis. The notices have been withdrawn, and no replacement alerts will be issued.

Oracle plans to raise $20 billion by selling new shares and bonds, according to US regulatory filings released on Monday. The company intends to use the funds for general corporate purposes, including capital expenditures, debt repayment, acquisitions, dividends, and share buybacks.


This fundraising push comes as Oracle expands its cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure, with capital spending expected to peak over the current and next fiscal years. Despite committing to cap additional AI financing at $20 billion through fiscal 2030, the company saw its shares fall 3.5% in premarket trading following the news.

The US midterm elections on Tuesday emerged as another major focus for investors, with voters set to determine whether Democrats could regain control of Congress from President Donald Trump's Republican Party. Democrats were widely expected to win the House of Representatives, while the Senate outcome remained less certain. Republicans had controlled both chambers during the first two years of Trump's administration. Janus Henderson Investors' Seth Meyer said midterm elections generally tended to be unfavourable for the party in power. Separately, Estée Lauder gained 2.6% after raising its annual sales and profit forecasts, while Okta advanced 2.7% following news of its inclusion in the S&P 500, replacing Kenvue.

Oil prices dropped more than 4%, providing an additional boost to investor sentiment. The decline followed talks between Iranian and Qatari officials over a possible agreement to end the US-Israeli war on Iran. The discussions raised hopes that supply disruptions in the Middle East could ease. Lower oil prices helped improve the broader risk appetite at a time when investors were already assessing the impact of elevated borrowing costs and uncertainty surrounding AI-related investments. Developments in the Middle East remained an important factor for markets as traders monitored potential changes in energy supply conditions.

Intel shares fell about 1% in premarket trading, extending Friday's losses after the chipmaker recorded its steepest one-day decline since the 1980s. The company forecast quarterly revenue below market expectations and said it did not expect positive cash flow this year. Meanwhile, rival AMD was scheduled to report earnings later in the week. Apple shares slipped 0.4% ahead of its quarterly results due after the closing bell. UBS Global Wealth Management's Kiran Ganesh said volatility was likely to persist through the earnings season, with companies facing potential market penalties if they failed to meet investor expectations.

The Nasdaq-100 shed more than $2.5 trillion in market value in October and came close to entering correction territory as investors questioned whether Big Tech's massive AI investments would generate adequate returns. Companies tapping bond markets to finance these investments have added to concerns about debt-funded spending, particularly as borrowing costs rise. Sentiment towards AI stocks remained weak last week after reports that OpenAI had reduced its latest funding-round target by $10 billion. Separately, Blackstone reportedly told investors that Anthropic might struggle to secure an investment-grade credit rating following its IPO.

US stock index futures rose on Monday as technology and AI-related shares steadied following a difficult October. At 7:01 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 256 points, or 0.49%, while S&P 500 E-minis gained 35 points, or 0.46%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis advanced 212.5 points, or 0.74%. Investors turned their attention to the US midterm elections and another busy week of corporate earnings. Most megacap and growth stocks also traded higher in premarket deals, with SpaceX and Alphabet among the notable gainers.