US Stock Market Live Updates: US stocks trade 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 rise as oil prices tumble on hopes of a US-Iran peace deal. Investors assess the upcoming US midterm elections and corporate earnings, while concerns over Big Tech's AI spending and debt-funded investments keep sentiment cautious.
Wall Street's main indexes trade higher on Monday as oil prices slide more than 6% on hopes of progress towards a US-Iran peace deal. Investors also assess the upcoming US midterm elections and a busy week of corporate earnings.
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US natural gas futures gained over 1% on Monday, driven by traders covering short positions after a recent market selloff. Reports hinting at a potential polar vortex disruption later in the month further supported prices, raising expectations for an Arctic cold spell that could significantly boost heating demand. The front-month December contract reached $2.93 per million British thermal units, recovering from earlier multi-week lows.
Underlying fundamentals remain mixed, with US production dipping slightly to 111.0 billion cubic feet per day in early November from October's record highs. However, seasonal forecasts project overall US demand to climb to 116.7 billion cubic feet per day next week as colder weather settles in. Meanwhile, steady LNG export feedgas flows and robust storage levels continue to temper broader market gains.
Longer-dated US Treasury yields fell on Monday as crude oil prices tumbled over 6%, easing immediate fears about persistent inflation. The selloff in oil followed indications that Iran is open to peace talks, offering potential relief after months of Middle East conflict that kept energy costs high. Benchmark 10-year yields fell 4.9 basis points to 4.88%, while 30-year bond yields slipped 5.7 basis points to 5.252%, continuing a multi-week retreat from last month's cycle highs.
The decline in yields occurred despite stronger than expected economic data showing US manufacturing activity accelerated in October. The ISM manufacturing PMI rose to 55.5, signaling robust domestic demand while keeping factory input prices elevated. Short-term yields remained mostly unchanged, with the 2-year Treasury yield edging down less than a basis point to 4.579% as markets weigh economic strength against lower energy costs.
Check Point Software shares fell 6% on Monday after the Israeli cybersecurity firm trimmed its full-year 2026 revenue and earnings guidance. The company lowered its revenue target to between $2.732 billion and $2.782 billion, falling below Wall Street expectations of $2.8 billion. Chief Executive Officer Nadav Zafrir called 2026 a challenging year and noted that recovery has taken longer than planned, though he expressed confidence that product revenue will begin to pick up in the fourth quarter and into 2027.
The lower outlook followed third-quarter results showing revenue slipped 1% to $670 million, while adjusted earnings per share reached $2.49, roughly flat compared to the previous year when excluding a one-off tax benefit. Growth in security subscriptions provided a bright spot, rising 11% to $339 million during the quarter. Check Point also continued its aggressive share buyback strategy, spending $325 million to repurchase 2.5 million shares over the three-month period.
The US dollar dropped 0.38% on Monday, posting its sharpest daily decline in over two weeks as falling crude prices and climbing stock markets curbed safe-haven demand for the greenback. Investors trimmed positions ahead of a dense week of catalysts, including Tuesday's US midterm elections, critical labor market data, and rate decisions from multiple central banks.
The dollar lost ground against major rivals like the euro and British sterling, though it managed a slight 0.08% gain against the Japanese yen. Beyond currency markets, manufacturing indexes showed steady output across the US and Europe despite lingering inflation pressures, while crypto trading stabilized even as Binance processed nearly $5 billion in withdrawals following a major hack.
Anthropic's third-quarter results showed strong financial improvement as the company prepared for its initial public offering. Net loss narrowed sharply from the previous quarter to $23.29 billion, down from $66.3 billion. Meanwhile, revenue continued to grow, climbing to $16.96 billion from $11.56 billion in the prior quarter.
The updated SEC filing follows Anthropic's public listing application submitted last week. The upcoming float could become the largest IPO on record. This high-profile debut comes at a time when investors are taking a much closer look at the massive capital spending across the AI industry.
Marvell Technology Inc. has agreed to acquire data center laser maker Lumentum Holdings Inc. in a $115 billion deal, paying $1,132 per share. The transaction marks the largest technology M&A deal of the year by equity value and pushes 2026 to a record high for announced deals worth $10 billion or more.
The landmark acquisition highlights how the global artificial intelligence boom is driving massive dealmaking across tech, data infrastructure, and power sectors. It also sets major milestones for financial advisers, pushing Goldman Sachs past $1.1 trillion in annual global M&A volume and providing lead adviser Qatalyst Partners with its largest deal to date.
Iran is conducting intensive consultations through mediating countries, including Qatar and Pakistan, to secure an agreement that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restart talks with the United States, according to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi. Speaking to the official IRNA news agency, Araqchi emphasized that Iran will reopen the key shipping channel and resume formal negotiations if the US agrees to its conditions.
Alphabet Inc. is set to raise €6 billion ($6.7 billion) through a seven-part euro bond sale, offering significantly higher yields and wider spreads than its previous offering in May. Despite recent credit market jitters and investor concerns over the high cost of artificial intelligence infrastructure, the deal attracted over €17.1 billion in orders, driven by confidence in the company's strong balance sheet.
The transaction makes Alphabet the largest corporate issuer of euro debt in a single calendar year, having previously raised €9 billion across six tranches. To entice buyers, the tech giant offered unusually high new-issue premiums, pricing the sale at roughly three times the average concession paid by European corporate borrowers this year.
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.