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Indexes: Dow down 0.4%, S&P 500 up 0.1%, Nasdaq up 0.5%

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Kimberly-Clark to acquire Kenvue ( KVUE ) for about $48.7 bln

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Iren ( IREN ) jumps after $9.7 bln contract with Microsoft ( MSFT )

(Updates after markets open)

By Twesha Dikshit and Purvi Agarwal

Nov 3 2025 - The S&P 500 and Nasdaq kicked off November

on firmer ground on Monday, after a slew of AI deals boosted

megacap companies Amazon ( AMZN ) and Nvidia ( NVDA ), while Kenvue ( KVUE ) shares soared

after Kimberly-Clark's buyout deal.

Amazon.com ( AMZN ) hit a record high after signing a

multi-year $38 billion deal to supply cloud computing services

to OpenAI, giving the ChatGPT maker access to Nvidia's ( NVDA ) graphics

processors.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) gained 2.5% after President Donald Trump

said the company's most advanced chips will be reserved for U.S.

companies and Microsoft ( MSFT ) secured export licenses to use its chips

in UAE data centers.

Loop Capital raised its price target for Nvidia ( NVDA ) stock by

$100, which also helped gains.

Optimism around AI has been driving markets to record highs

after several so-called "Magnificent Seven" companies pointed to

a surge in spending on the technology. The S&P 500 and the

Nasdaq marked their longest monthly winning streaks in years in

October.

Investors await results from Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD )

and Qualcomm ( QCOM ), among others this week.

Michael Sansoterra, CIO at Silvant Capital Management, said

the market was seeing earnings growth for most companies outside

the big tech names.

"That tells us that the market's on track beyond the AI

theme. The fundamentals of the economy have been surprisingly

resilient given some of the fears around inflation and jobs," he

added.

The consumer discretionary and information

technology sectors gained 1.9% and 0.5%, respectively,

buoying the S&P 500, as most other sectors declined.

Kenvue ( KVUE ) jumped 17.4% after Kimberly-Clark

said it will acquire the Tylenol maker in a deal valued at more

than $40 billion. Kimberly-Clark slid 11.8%.

At 10:02 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 177.70 points, or 0.37%, to 47,385.17, the S&P 500

gained 4.14 points, or 0.06%, to 6,844.34 and the Nasdaq

Composite gained 128.77 points, or 0.54%, to 23,853.72.

Industrial heavyweights Caterpillar ( CAT ) and Honeywell

fell 1.5% and 0.8%, respectively, weighing on the Dow.

PRIVATE ECONOMIC DATA AWAITED

Private sector economic data, including Wednesday's private

payrolls, will be closely watched this week, with the

second-longest U.S. government shutdown contributing to data fog

and monetary policy uncertainty.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell had tempered optimism for a December

rate cut and a clutch of Fed officials aired discomfort with the

central bank's decision to cut interest rates last week.

U.S. manufacturing contracted for an eighth consecutive

month in October as new orders remained subdued, data showed.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear a case

around the legality of Trump's tariffs on Wednesday.

IDEXX ( IDXX ) jumped 13% after raising its annual

forecasts, among the biggest gainers on the S&P 500.

Berkshire Hathaway's class B shares fell 0.8% after

its quarterly results, reversing their premarket course.

IREN ( IREN ) jumped 19.8% after the data center operator

signed a near $9.7 billion contract with Microsoft ( MSFT ) to

provide it with access to Nvidia GB300 processors over a

five-year period.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.9-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 1.61-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 11 new 52-week highs and 25 new lows

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 50 new highs and 95 new

lows.