(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock

markets, click or type LIVE/ in a news window.)

*

Futures up: Dow 0.03%, S&P 500 0.36%, Nasdaq 0.66%

*

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

*

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

(Updates with quote, prices)

By Twesha Dikshit and Purvi Agarwal

Nov 3 2025 - Wall Street futures gained on Monday,

kicking off November on firmer ground driven by optimism around

AI demand and a U.S.-China trade truce, while Kenvue ( KVUE ) shares

soared after Kimberly-Clark's buyout deal.

Kenvue ( KVUE ) jumped 21% in premarket trading after

Kimberly-Clark said it will acquire the Tylenol maker in

a deal valued at about $48.7 billion. Kimberly-Clark slid 14.4%.

The benchmark S&P 500 posted its sixth consecutive

monthly gain in October, its longest such streak in four years,

while the tech-heavy Nasdaq logged its longest in over

seven years, after the so-called "Magnificent Seven" companies

that have reported their earnings so far pointed to a surge in

AI spending.

Investors await more clues as semiconductor firms including

Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) and Qualcomm ( QCOM ) report

results this week.

"While there are concerns over how big tech companies are

financing their expanding AI spending, these firms have strong

cash positions and healthy balance sheets," said analysts at UBS

Global Wealth Management.

"Higher capex should drive further AI momentum, and we are

encouraged by rising AI adoption and robust cloud growth."

U.S. President Donald Trump said AI giant Nvidia's ( NVDA ) most

advanced chips will be reserved for U.S. companies and kept out

of China and other countries. Nvidia ( NVDA ) shares gained 2%.

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to a one-year

delay in reciprocal tariffs last week, but it did little to

address a deeper divide between the world's two economic

superpowers.

At 07:19 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 13 points, or

0.03%, U.S. S&P 500 E-minis were up 24.5 points, or

0.36% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 171.25 points, or

0.66%.

PRIVATE ECONOMIC DATA AWAITED

The spotlight will be on private sector economic data this

week to gauge the health of the economy, with the second-longest

U.S. government shutdown contributing to data fog and monetary

policy uncertainty.

Wednesday's ADP's private payrolls data will be closely

watched, particularly after Fed Chair Jerome Powell

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.

The Institute for Supply Management's gauge of U.S.

manufacturing for October is also due at 10 a.m. ET on Monday.

Traders are now pricing in a 69.3% chance of a

25-basis-point rate cut in December, lower than the 90% priced

in a week earlier, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.

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

around the legality of Trump's tariffs on Wednesday.

Before the bell, Berkshire Hathaway's Class B

shares rose about 1% after Warren Buffett's conglomerate

reported a higher profit for the third quarter.

Data storage companies gained after a report said Samsung

delayed its DDR5 contract pricing to mid-November.

Seagate Technology ( STX ) and Western Digital ( WDC ) were

up 1.8% each. Sandisk ( SNDK ) rose 5.6%.

IREN ( IREN ) shares jumped 22% after the data center

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

to provide it with access to Nvidia's ( NVDA ) GB300 processors

over a five-year period.