Lucid misses Wall Street’s earnings expectations, expands loan from Saudi Arabia fund

U.S. stocks experienced a strong rally on Monday as declining oil prices quelled inflation concerns, enabling the S&P 500 to bounce back from its largest weekly loss since April 2025, and tech shares to surge despite Nvidia's stock falling amid controversy around CEO Jensen Huang. All 11 major S&P 500 sector indexes saw gains, with nine exceeding a 1% increase on Monday.

Industrials and consumer discretionary sectors led the gains, surging more than 3% each. Nvidia experienced a significant drop, losing 4.2% and closing at its lowest level since April 7, as investors questioned CEO Huang's future at the AI chipmaker following an internal probe into a foreign intelligence effort targeting him. While the AI narrative persists, Ken Polcari, market strategist at SlateStone Wealth, believes regulation can't stop AI's growth and is working to control it with appropriate measures.

A sharp decline in crude oil prices further encouraged investors, easing inflation worries. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1,104.02 points, or 2.15%, to 52,389.75, while the S&P 500 gained 173.08 points, or 2.35%, to 7,549.94. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 673.71 points, or 2.74%, to 25,253.14, marking its most significant daily advance since July 30.

Inflation data will be released this week, with the Consumer Price Index report for October on Tuesday and the Producer Price Index on Friday. Some analysts view last week's decline as an overreaction, stating risks are low for extreme regulation of data center developments despite Democratic majorities in the U.S. Congress. Even as oil prices eased, the Federal Reserve's December policy meeting remains highly anticipated, with a rate hike probability exceeding 80%.

Despite the rally, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surged 6.9% after a 12% drop last week, with Nvidia being the only decliner in the index on Monday. Broadcom and Advanced Micro Devices led the index's performance, each up 8.8% and 13.3%, respectively. Investment giant KKR reported a record high profit for the quarter, while Constellation Energy, involved in AI buildouts, surged more than 10% after surpassing adjusted third-quarter profit expectations.

Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones by a ratio of 4.06-to-1 on the NYSE and 3.34-to-1 on the Nasdaq, with the S&P 500 recording 16 new 52-week highs and three new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite saw 103 new highs and 164 new lows. The trading volume on U.S. exchanges reached 18.98 billion shares, surpassing the 18.72 billion average for the full trading session over the past 20 trading days.