US stocks jump as oil slide cools inflation worries; Nvidia slumps

On November 9, US stocks experienced a significant rally, driven by a drop in oil prices that quelled inflation concerns and bolstered investor confidence. The S&P 500, which had previously suffered its largest weekly decline since April 2025, rebounded from its worst weekly performance of the year. Tech shares, despite the slump in AI heavyweight Nvidia, also rose sharply.

Last week, stocks had plummeted following a decisive win for Democrats in the US midterm elections, raising concerns over potential new regulations that could impede the growth of the AI sector. However, the rally on November 9 seemed to dispel these worries, as each of the 11 major S&P 500 sector indexes posted gains, with nine exceeding a 1% increase.

Industrials and consumer discretionary sectors led the charge, surging more than 3% each. Despite the overall market optimism, Nvidia, the world's second-most valuable company, saw its shares plummet by 4.2%, marking its lowest level since April 7. This decline stemmed from investor skepticism surrounding CEO Jensen Huang, following an internal investigation into possible Chinese intelligence interference aimed at Huang.

Despite these concerns, Ken Polcari, a market strategist at SlateStone Wealth, maintained that the AI story was not fading. He emphasized that while regulation was on the horizon, the Democrats were unlikely to cripple the AI sector, as they could only put rules in place but couldn't halt its progress.

Support for the market rally came from a notable drop in crude oil prices, which helped alleviate worries about price pressures. US President Donald Trump downplayed the likelihood of renewed strikes on Iran, further bolstering investor sentiment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged by 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 saw the most substantial daily increase since July 30, with a gain of 673.71 points, or 2.74%, bringing its total to 25,253.14. The S&P 500's daily percentage gain was its largest since April 8, and the Nasdaq's daily advance was the biggest since July 30 as well.

Inflation data was on the agenda for the week, with the Labor Department releasing its October Consumer Price Index and Producer Price Index reports. Some analysts downplayed last week's market downturn, suggesting it was an overreaction and that the risks of extreme regulation were low, even with Democrats controlling both chambers of Congress.

Although oil prices had eased, expectations for a Federal Reserve rate hike during the December policy meeting remained high, with 80% of the CME FedWatch expecting a raise. Fed President Tom Barkin of the Richmond Federal Reserve advised a cautious approach to monetary policy as the central bank continues to grapple with inflation.

On November 9, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surged by 6.9%, reversing its previous week's 12% drop, marking its most significant weekly decline since the week ending in April 2025. Nvidia was the sole decliner in the index, while Broadcom rose by 8.8% and Advanced Micro Devices increased by 13.3%. Shares of investment giant KKR climbed 1.7% after reporting its strongest quarterly profit ever.

Constellation Energy, an energy firm with ties to the AI buildout, jumped more than 10% after its adjusted third-quarter profit surpassed expectations.

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