[New York Stocks] Nasdaq Rebounds on Buying in AI-Related Shares... Healthcare Stocks Gain

Oil Prices Mixed... WTI Edges Up Slightly

After the market opened, buying in some AI-related stocks helped lift all three major indexes on the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 20 (local time).

As of 10:15 a.m., the Dow was trading at 52,345.47, up 379.44 points (0.73%) from the previous trading day. The large-cap S&P 500 was up 20.10 points (0.26%) at 7,710.03, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq was up 8.03 points (0.03%) at 26,438.92, holding onto modest gains.

Major AI stocks rose slightly, helping the Nasdaq recover from losses at the start of the session. SanDisk was up 0.48%, Micron Technology 0.65%, Seagate 1.39%, and AMD 0.51%.

Commenting on the previous day's rebound in technology stocks, Jose Torres, chief economist at Interactive Brokers, said, "Wall Street is breathing a sigh of relief as investor sentiment improves about the outlook for modern technology." He added that "market participants are reducing their hedge positions against volatility."

However, market concerns about the financial health of AI infrastructure companies are persisting. CoreWeave shares plunged more than 25% last week amid concerns over its debt burden. The stock rose intraday the previous day after Goldman Sachs upgraded its rating to "Buy," but gave up those gains and closed slightly lower. CoreWeave is currently up 0.02% from the previous session.

CNBC reported that the sharp decline in South Korean AI company Elice Group's shares on the first day of its KOSDAQ listing also hurt investor sentiment. Elice Group plunged about 32% below its offering price on its first day of trading the previous day.

Concerns are growing that doubts about the AI industry's growth prospects are spreading, as even newly listed companies have struggled amid mounting worries about the massive investment costs and debt burden involved in expanding AI infrastructure.

By contrast, healthcare stocks, including Johnson & Johnson, up 2.56%, and Merck, up 3.47%, advanced, helping drive the broader indexes higher. Shares in sectors considered relatively defensive compared with technology stocks stood out.

Market participants are also watching third-quarter earnings reports from major companies due this week. A key question is whether results from Tesla, Meta and others can ease market concerns about AI-related investment.

Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for November delivery was trading at $104.25 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 0.67% from the previous session. Brent crude for December delivery was at $107.67 a barrel on ICE Futures, down 1.72% from the previous session.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.