A two-day diplomatic window and a high-profile IPO filing combined Monday to push equities broadly higher, giving investors reasons to buy heading into one of the year’s most consequential weeks.
Technology shares led the advance, with the Nasdaq 100 Index (NASDAQ: QQQ) climbing +1.38%, outpacing the S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY), which gained +0.94%, and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA), which rose a more modest +0.48%.
Futures markets reflected similar optimism, with December E-mini Nasdaq contracts (NQZ26) up +1.39% and December E-mini S&P futures (ESZ26) gaining +0.95% on the session.
A retreat in crude oil prices provided the session’s early tailwind, with oil sliding roughly 2% after the United States and Israel refrained from launching any military strike over the weekend.
Diplomatic activity added to the relief, as senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey gathered with Iranian leadership in Tehran to explore avenues for reducing regional hostilities.
Even so, President Trump signaled that patience may be running thin, telling Fox News on Sunday that it’s “getting to be decision time” on whether he will make a deal with Iran or “finish it off.”
Alongside the geopolitical backdrop, Anthropic’s IPO filing Monday injected fresh enthusiasm into artificial intelligence-linked stocks, arriving just as the market braces for a critical stretch of big-tech earnings.
Alphabet and Microsoft are both scheduled to report results on Wednesday, with Amazon.com following on Thursday, making this week a pivotal moment for assessing the health of AI-driven corporate spending.
Domestic economic data also provided cover for bulls, as the September Chicago Fed National Activity Index climbed to 0.07, reversing a revised August reading of -0.08 and beating forecasts that had called for a further dip to -0.10.
The Dallas Fed’s October manufacturing index similarly surprised to the upside, jumping to 13.4 from 9.8, well above market expectations for a decline to 8.8.
On the rates front, markets are assigning just an 11% probability to a 25-basis-point Federal Reserve rate hike at the FOMC’s two-day meeting beginning Tuesday, keeping monetary policy concerns largely on the back burner.
The 10-year Treasury yield edged down 1.0 basis point to 4.984%, with December T-note futures (ZNZ6) slipping just one tick as the oil sell-off helped pull the 10-year breakeven inflation expectations rate lower by 0.7 basis points to 2.343%.
Overseas, European equities joined the rally with the Euro Stoxx 50 adding +1.00%, while China’s Shanghai Composite closed up a marginal +0.19% and Japan’s Nikkei-225 finished the session down -0.80%.
