October Winds Continue in November: Stock Markets Rise

American stocks rose on the first trading day of November, continuing the momentum from October. Amazon and Nvidia, among the major technology companies, were among the leaders pushing the markets higher.

S&P 500 and the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.5% and 1%, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which has fewer technology stocks, remained stable.

Wall Street aims to sustain the vibrant rise seen in October. The S&P 500 rose by 2.3% in October, the Dow by 2.5%, and the Nasdaq by 4.7%, marking its seventh consecutive month of gains. Investors are shifting towards growth and AI-related stocks, while major tech companies and the "Fabulous Seven" have led market movements. Optimism about easing U.S.-China trade tensions also supported the gains.

Nevertheless, investors are closely monitoring developments in Washington. The U.S. government shutdown is delaying the release of important economic data, such as the unemployment report expected this week. This week, arguments will begin in the Supreme Court regarding the legal status of President Trump’s most comprehensive tariffs.

The earnings season is in full swing. So far, around 300 S&P 500 companies have reported their third-quarter results. This week, reports from over 100 companies, including Palantir, Super Micro, and AMD, are anticipated.

Berkshire Hathaway shares rose by more than 1% following the announcement of third-quarter earnings on Saturday. Warren Buffett’s company saw a 17% increase in earnings thanks to a relatively mild hurricane season and paper investment gains.

On the other hand, Kimberly-Clark announced it would acquire Kenvue to create a $32 billion health and wellness company. Kenvue shares rose by 20%, while Kimberly-Clark shares fell by 15%.

Due to the lack of government data, this week's announcements regarding the Manufacturing and Services sectors by Institute for Supply Management and S&P Global may carry more significance than expected. In this period of rising fears of consumer pullback, the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment report will also be closely examined.

Amazon shares rose by 0.4% in pre-markets after Amazon Web Services announced a multi-year partnership agreement with OpenAI. The $38 billion agreement will allow OpenAI to utilize AWS infrastructure to support its artificial intelligence efforts.

The agreement will strengthen OpenAI’s AI projects using Nvidia GPUs and is expected to be implemented by the end of 2026.

Cipher Mining shares also rose by 16% after announcing a 15-year, $5.5 billion lease agreement with Amazon Web Services. The company will begin efforts to deliver 300 megawatts of AI capacity in two phases in 2026.

Since the beginning of the year, Cipher shares have increased by over 300%, reflecting investors' interest in AI infrastructure projects. The stocks were among the most traded papers on Yahoo Finance this morning.