Overview
- Amazon and OpenAI confirmed a $38 billion AWS capacity agreement that includes access to hundreds of thousands of Nvidia chips, helping send Amazon to a record close and boosting the S&P 500 and Nasdaq as the Dow fell.
- Palantir beat third-quarter estimates and raised guidance on accelerating AI demand, with shares edging higher in extended trading before a volatile premarket.
- U.S. manufacturing contracted again in October as the ISM PMI fell to 48.7, and a government shutdown has delayed key data, leaving Fed officials split on the timing of further rate cuts.
- Asia’s response diverged after the U.S. tech surge, with Japan and Taiwan touching record highs earlier even as regional stocks mostly slipped and Australia traded cautiously before the RBA decision following a hotter CPI reading.
- Nvidia rose on AI deal momentum and export licensing developments, while Wall Street leaders warned that narrow market leadership and stretched valuations raise the risk of a pullback.