[New York Stocks] Oil Plunge, Tech Rebound Send All Three Major Indexes Up More Than 2%

Odds of Further Attacks on Iran Fall
Gold Futures Rise 1%

Wall Street's three major indexes all closed higher on the 9th (local time). The gains came as oil prices fell 4% to 5% on hopes of easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, easing inflation concerns, while bargain hunting flowed into semiconductor stocks that had plunged last week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1,104.02 points, or 2.15%, from the previous session to close at 52,389.75. The S&P 500, which is weighted toward large-cap stocks, gained 173.08 points, or 2.35%, to 7,549.94, while the Nasdaq Composite, which is weighted toward technology stocks, climbed 673.71 points, or 2.74%, to 25,253.13.

The sharp drop in oil prices drove the market's gains that day. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for December delivery fell 4.38% from the previous session to settle at $86.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for January delivery dropped 5.85% to close at $92.57 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.

Hopes of easing tensions in the Middle East grew after U.S. President Donald Trump played down the likelihood of further military strikes against Iran. The sharp decline in oil prices boosted investor sentiment amid expectations that it could ease inflationary pressure from rising energy costs.

Semiconductor stocks that plunged last week also rebounded sharply. Broadcom rose 8.78%, while AMD surged 13.26%. The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX), an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that invests in major U.S. semiconductor companies, also gained more than 7%. SOXX had plunged about 13% last week.

Major technology stocks also advanced. Amazon and Microsoft (MS) rose 2.94% and 2.75%, respectively, while Tesla gained 5.54% and Alphabet climbed 1.18%. Dow components Goldman Sachs and Caterpillar also rose, contributing to the index's rebound.

Nvidia, however, plunged 4.27% as a scandal involving CEO Jensen Huang's alleged affair widened into suspicions of Chinese espionage. Nvidia's board previously said it had launched an independent investigation into allegations that Huang had a relationship with a woman suspected of having ties to Chinese intelligence. The board added that it had found no basis to believe that national security or company secrets had been compromised.

Market participants said last week's sell-off in artificial intelligence (AI)-related stocks had been excessive. Jay Hatfield, CEO of Infrastructure Capital Advisors, told CNBC, "The recent sell-off in semiconductor stocks was excessive."

However, he cited the possibility of tighter regulations on AI data center construction and energy use as a continuing risk, as Democrats took control of Congress. "There is policy uncertainty stemming from the Democrats even in the short term, but more important is the long-term impact beyond 2028," he said, while predicting that data center construction in the United States would ultimately move forward.

Hatfield said that despite the market's rebound that day, uncertainty had not completely dissipated. Citing elevated oil prices amid the war in the Middle East and the Federal Reserve's (Fed) interest rate outlook as risks, he expected the S&P 500 to fluctuate within a certain range through the end of the year.

Gold prices also rose as the weaker dollar and lower oil prices eased inflation concerns. U.S. gold futures for December delivery closed 1% higher at $4,114.50 an ounce.

Expectations that the sharp drop in oil prices would ease inflationary pressure and reduce the burden on the Fed to tighten monetary policy supported gold prices. Jim Wyckoff, a market analyst at American Gold Exchange, said, "As lower oil prices ease inflation concerns, central banks have more room to pursue more accommodative monetary policies."

Meanwhile, attention is also focused on the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) for October, due out on November 10, and the Producer Price Index (PPI), due on November 13. Markets are expected to assess the pace of price increases and gauge the potential impact on the Fed's future interest rate decisions.

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