The stock market started the week on a higher note, with the S&P 500 (+0.7%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.8%), and DJIA (+0.3%) all advancing as renewed buying interest in semiconductor stocks, AI infrastructure companies, and other growth-oriented names provided support. The gains helped the S&P 500 and Nasdaq recover some of last week's losses, while the DJIA built on its gain from last week. The S&P 500 briefly eclipsed its 50-day moving average (7,698) during the session but failed to close above that level.

Today's rebound followed a difficult stretch for the AI trade, particularly Thursday's sharp selloff, when concerns about the financing requirements of expanding AI infrastructure weighed heavily on technology stocks. Reports that Meta Platforms (META 630.56, -12.06, -1.88%) is seeking to raise $95 billion in equity for its AI expansion, alongside SpaceX's (SPCX 146.90, -0.59, -0.40%) $40 billion debt financing for GPU purchases, brought renewed attention to the enormous investments being made in the industry. Anthropic also filed its S-1 registration statement ahead of a potential IPO, reporting rapid revenue growth that reinforced expectations for expanding demand for AI services, even as questions about infrastructure costs and returns on investment persist.

The information technology sector (+1.5%) led the advance, supported by a strong rebound in semiconductor stocks that lifted the PHLX Semiconductor Index 2.8%. NVIDIA (NVDA 216.02, +5.06, +2.40%) was among the notable beneficiaries of renewed interest in the AI trade, while the industrials sector (+1.4%) also received support from AI infrastructure-related names. The consumer discretionary sector (+1.1%) was another standout, helped by a sizable gain in Tesla (TSLA 391.62, +19.40, +5.21%) following an upgrade to Overweight from Equalweight at Barclays.

Lower oil prices also provided a tailwind for a variety of consumer discretionary stocks, with WTI crude futures settling $1.41 lower (-1.4%) at $101.76 per barrel. Late in the session, The Wall Street Journal reported that DoorDash (DASH 168.44, -10.94, -6.10%) is in discussions to acquire Instacart (CART 60.88, +4.44, +7.87%).

Mega-cap growth stocks made an outsized contribution to the broader market's advance, with the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (+0.9%) outperforming the S&P 500 Equal Weighted Index (+0.3%). Apple (AAPL 343.91, -3.82, -1.10%) was a notable exception to the technology strength, The gains across smaller and mid-sized companies reflected some participation beyond the largest stocks, although leadership remained concentrated in growth-oriented areas.

The communication services sector (-1.4%) was the session's clear laggard, weighed down by weakness in mega-cap constituents Meta Platforms (META 630.56, -12.06, -1.88%) and Alphabet (GOOG 314.19, -3.09, -0.97%), alongside several company-specific declines. Verizon (VZ 43.11, -1.55, -3.47%) fell despite beating earnings expectations and raising its FY26 outlook, as a revenue shortfall and concerns about future wireless competition overshadowed the positive developments. Netflix (NFLX 63.90, -1.95, -2.96%) also struggled following a Bloomberg report about declining time spent on the platform.

Defensive areas generally lagged, with the health care and utilities sectors finishing flat and the consumer staples sector (-0.1%) slipping slightly. Dollar General (DG 128.42, -4.27, -3.22%) was among the notable laggards after the FTC and state partners filed a lawsuit alleging that the retailer charged consumers more than advertised for numerous products.

The energy sector (+0.5%) finished higher despite the decline in crude oil prices, with refiner names outperforming. EQT Corp. (EQT 54.85, -0.78, -1.40%) fell following its agreement to acquire Range Resources (RRC 53.58, +8.06, +17.71%) in an all-stock transaction, while Range Resources rallied.

The early-week advance comes ahead of a considerably busier stretch for both corporate earnings and economic data, beginning tomorrow. According to FactSet, 179 S&P 500 companies are scheduled to report earnings this week, including major technology companies whose results will be closely watched for indications of AI spending trends and profitability.

On the policy front, Wednesday's FOMC decision remains another important event, with markets widely expecting the Fed to leave interest rates unchanged.

U.S. Treasuries started a busy week, which will feature a midweek release of the October FOMC Statement, on a mixed note, with losses in shorter tenors and modest gains on the long end. The early afternoon brought some light pressure on the front end after the U.S. Treasury kicked off this week's note auction slate with a weak 2-year note sale while the long end was essentially unmoved by the result. The 2-year note yield settled up three basis points to 4.71%, and the 10-year note yield finished unchanged at 4.99%.

There was no economic data of note today.

• Nasdaq Composite: +12.6% YTD
• Russell 2000: +12.3% YTD
• S&P 500: +12.1% YTD
• S&P Mid Cap 400: +10.2% YTD
• DJIA: +8.9% YTD