NEW YORK — Wall Street is ticking toward more records on Monday, and technology stocks keep leading the way.
The S&P 500 gained 0.4%, continuing its rise from a recent record high. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had decreased by 117 points, or 0.3%, by 12:50 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was up by 0.7%.
Advanced Micro Devices surged 26.9%, significantly boosting the market, after revealing a partnership with OpenAI to supply chips for artificial-intelligence infrastructure. This agreement allows OpenAI to potentially acquire up to 160 million AMD shares if certain targets are reached.
An AI investment craze is among the key drivers for Wall Street’s repeated highs, though concerns are growing that stock valuations are becoming overly inflated. Recently, the AI excitement has largely been fueled by OpenAI, now valued at $500 billion, as it secures agreements with global companies to enhance AI infrastructure.
Another semiconductor firm, Nvidia, recently announced a $100 billion investment in OpenAI as part of their alliance, sparking criticism of a possibly insular AI investment cycle. Nvidia’s shares dipped 0.6% after the AMD news. As the top-valued stock on Wall Street, Nvidia contributed significantly to the S&P 500’s movement.
Apart from technology, Comerica saw a 12.7% jump after Fifth Third Bancorp agreed to acquire it in an all-stock transaction worth $10.9 billion. This merger aims to establish the ninth-largest bank in the country. Fifth Third’s share price remained nearly steady.
Tesla rose 4.2% after social-media postings by the electric-vehicle maker hinted at a possible product unveiling coming on Tuesday.
Verizon Communications dropped 4.9% after announcing a leadership change. Dan Schulman, a company director and former PayPal CEO, is set to replace Hans Vestberg as the new CEO.
Elsewhere on Wall Street, trading was relatively quiet as the stock market continues to largely ignore the U.S. government’s shutdown. Past closures of the federal government have had minimal effect on the stock market or on the economy, and the bet on Wall Street is that something similar will happen again.
Politics are playing a more active role in stock markets abroad, as Japanese stocks soared and French stocks slumped following their latest political shake-ups.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 4.8% after the country’s Liberal Democratic Party chose Sanae Takaichi as its leader. She was an ally of the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who pushed for lower interest rates and market-friendly policies.
The yen’s value dropped against the U.S. dollar on expectations that Takaichi will boost spending, likely adding to inflationary pressures. That in turn helped push up stocks of Japanese exporters, whose products can become more attractive on the global market because of a cheaper yen.
“Obviously, investors like what she has been saying and certainly today judging by the number of stocks that moved and which stocks moved, it seems like pretty much led by foreigners so far,” Neil Newman, head of strategy at Astris Advisory Japan, said about Takaichi.
In Paris, the CAC 40 index slumped 1.4% following the resignation of France’s new prime minister.
Sebastien Lecornu resigned a day after he named his government, drawing a backlash across the political spectrum for his choice of ministers. French politics have been in disarray since President Emmanuel Macron called snap elections last year that produced a deeply fragmented legislature.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.16% from 4.13% late Friday.
The shutdown of the U.S. government likely means delays for U.S. economic reports scheduled for this week, though investors will have some earnings reports to comb through, including from Delta Air Lines, PepsiCo and Levi Strauss.
Despite the shutdown, the Federal Reserve will release minutes from its meeting last month, when it cut its benchmark interest rate for the first time this year. Much on Wall Street is riding on expectations that the Fed will continue cutting interest rates through this year and into next.
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AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
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