US stocks wavered on Monday amid doubts about interest rate cuts, as investors looked ahead to high-stakes Nvidia (NVDA) earnings and the delayed September jobs report.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose 0.25%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) traded roughly flat. The three indexes had fallen at the market open.
Wall Street is already getting set for Nvidia’s (NVDA) earnings on Wednesday, always an intensely scrutinized event. But the stakes are even higher this time amid doubts about Big Tech valuations and hefty AI spending. The chipmaker’s results and outlook will test faith on Wall Street that earnings will continue to drive stock gains and that the tech sell-off is a blip.
A boost to start the week came after Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) disclosed it has taken a nearly $5 billion stake in Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL). The move — likely one of the last under Warren Buffett’s leadership — is a rare tech bet by the conglomerate, one that markets will set against AI trade concerns. The Google parent’s stock popped about 6% in early trading. Meanwhile, Nvidia shares fell as a filing showed that Thiel Macro, Palantir (PLTR) co-founder Peter Thiel’s hedge fund, sold its stake in the AI chipmaker.
Investors are hoping to get an official snapshot of the labor market with the long-awaited release of September’s jobs report on Thursday. But a full return to a complete slate of economic data remains up in the air, even after the federal shutdown ended.
This week’s delayed monthly picture of the US jobs market will come under high scrutiny, as the more cautious tone struck by Federal Reserve officials recently throws doubt on the central bank’s rate move next month. Traders are now pricing in a 45% chance of a rate cut, compared with 62% a week ago.
In earnings this week, investors will get fresh insight into consumer strength as retailers led by Walmart’s (WMT) report. Home Depot (HD), Target (TGT), Lowe’s (LOW), and Gap (GAP) are others on this week’s docket.
Bitcoin (BTC-USD), meanwhile, is serving as a health check for the crypto market at large. Since its early October peak, the price of the cryptocurrency has dropped from a record high of over $126,000 to as low as $94,000 per token. The token has erased the gains made this year, which were sparked by the Trump administration’s more crypto-friendly stance — a sign that investors are shifting to a risk-off mindset.
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