US stocks bull run extended Monday as Amazon rallied on a seven-year, $38 billion AI pact with OpenAI, lifting major indexes while investors navigated a federal data blackout and scanned private reports for clues on growth.
Key Points
By 9:48 a.m. ET in New York, the S&P 500 added 0.2% to kick off November with a second straight advance. The Nasdaq 100 climbed 0.7%, paced by large-cap tech, as chip and cloud names drew fresh bids from AI-linked headlines.
Amazon rose about 4.9% after its cloud arm agreed to supply OpenAI with hundreds of thousands of Nvidia GPUs under a multi-year arrangement. The deal positions AWS to handle both training and inference for frontier models and indicates that compute supply remains the key choke point for AI deployment at scale.
Investors also juggled big corporate developments in health and software, while watching incoming survey data and Federal Reserve remarks for the next read on inflation, employment, and demand.
Market snapshot and key movers
- S&P 500: +0.2% as of mid-morning, building on a six-month advance.
- Nasdaq 100: +0.7% as AI-related momentum continued to lead.
- Amazon (AMZN): +4.9% after unveiling a $38 billion compute pact with OpenAI focused on Nvidia accelerators.
- Kimberly-Clark (KMB): -12% after reaching a roughly $40 billion agreement to buy Kenvue, the Tylenol owner.
- Kenvue (KVUE): shares jumped about 16% on the acquisition news.
- MongoDB (MDB): advanced after naming Chirantan “CJ” Desai as president and chief executive officer.
The US stocks bull run drew strength from continued enthusiasm around AI infrastructure and software. Gains were broadest across large-cap technology and select growth leaders, offset by weakness in consumer staples tied to the Kenvue transaction and concerns about regulatory and legal overhangs.
Amazon-OpenAI deal energizes tech sentiment
News that Amazon Web Services will furnish OpenAI with extensive Nvidia GPU capacity reinforced a central theme of 2025 markets: compute scarcity defines the pace of AI innovation. The seven-year agreement is aimed at delivering hundreds of thousands of next-generation chips, including Nvidia GB200 and GB300 accelerators, with targeted capacity coming online through 2026 and flexibility to expand.
The arrangement underscores OpenAI’s move to diversify its cloud footprint beyond a single provider, while giving AWS a marquee workload that tests networking, power, and reliability at massive scale. For equity investors, the headline stoked expectations for sustained capital spending on data centers, chips, and energy infrastructure—areas that have been prime beneficiaries of the US stocks bull run.
What’s powering the US stocks bull run?
- AI capex momentum: A wave of multibillion-dollar commitments by hyperscalers and AI developers has fueled demand for chips, specialized data centers, and networking gear. That backdrop has supported both semiconductor leaders and cloud platforms.
- Earnings resilience: Several of the “Magnificent Seven” emphasized AI-driven revenue opportunities in recent results, helping extend gains for names with the balance sheets to fund long-term infrastructure plans.
- Liquidity and breadth: While megacap tech remains the engine, periodic rotations into software, select industrials, and energy have helped sustain index-level advances, even as breadth metrics show room for improvement.
- Rate expectations: Stabilizing inflation data and a patient Federal Reserve stance have reduced near-term rate volatility, supporting risk assets. With a government shutdown limiting official releases, private datasets are playing a larger role in shaping expectations.
Strategists cautioned that upside may not be linear. Some cited weakening breadth and near-term fatigue in hyperscalers, noting that a pullback would be a healthy reset after a powerful multi-month climb. Even so, constructive views on earnings and spending plans continue to anchor the case for the US stocks bull run.
Corporate moves beyond Big Tech
A high-profile consumer deal shared the spotlight. Kimberly-Clark agreed to acquire Kenvue in a transaction valued at around $40 billion, creating a combined company with roughly $32 billion in revenue. The pairing would place the buyer ahead of Unilever to become the No. 2 seller of health and wellness products globally, trailing only Procter & Gamble.
The market reaction was classic merger arithmetic. Kenvue jumped on the premium, while Kimberly-Clark fell by double digits as investors assessed integration execution, leverage, and potential legal exposures. Analysts at RBC Capital Markets called the tie-up strategically transformative over the long term, but suggested shares may tread water until there is clarity on regulatory questions, litigation risks, and operational turnaround milestones.
In software, MongoDB advanced after appointing industry veteran CJ Desai as president and CEO. Leadership changes at high-growth infrastructure providers often serve as catalysts when paired with clear product roadmaps and disciplined investment.
Palantir in focus
Among AI beneficiaries, attention turned to Palantir after a torrid year-to-date run of about 171%. Traders are watching whether the company’s commercial segment can sustain rapid expansion and demonstrate that AI demand is scaling beyond government programs. Any signs of durable pipeline growth, unit economics, and adoption across industry verticals could influence performance into year-end.
Data, the Fed, and the shutdown backdrop
With many federal statistics delayed by the government shutdown, investors leaned more heavily on private and survey-based indicators. Two gauges from the Institute for Supply Management will be in focus: manufacturing on Monday and services on Wednesday. The pair often set the tone for expectations around hiring, pricing power, and supply chain resilience.
On policy, commentary from Federal Reserve officials will be parsed for any shift in the reaction function. Governor Lisa Cook is slated to discuss the economy and monetary policy at the Brookings Institution, while San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly appears in a moderated conversation later in the day. Markets will be listening for color on growth momentum, labor market cooling, and the path of real rates.
The US stocks bull run has benefited from a perception that the Fed can stay patient as inflation trends lower, even as demand pockets remain firm. A prolonged data blackout could add noise to near-term positioning, elevating the importance of alternative measures and corporate guidance.
Breadth, positioning, and the road ahead
Market breadth has wobbled at times, a common feature late in extended advances led by megacaps. Short-term divergences between indexes and equal-weighted benchmarks have fed calls for a pause. Several strategists argued that a modest consolidation would refresh the tape, potentially rotating leadership to under-owned groups.
At the same time, secular themes remain intact. AI infrastructure is a multi-year build, and the Amazon-OpenAI pact reinforced that compute remains the binding constraint. If delivery timelines hold and software monetization keeps pace, spending on chips, power, and networking could stay elevated, underpinning earnings estimates for key beneficiaries.
For now, the US stocks bull run is supported by:
- Strong AI and cloud capital plans.
- Select consumer resilience, even as staples face idiosyncratic pressures.
- A friendly rate backdrop pending more inflation data.
- Corporate activity that can re-rate laggards or consolidate leadership.
Risks include execution slips on large AI deployments, energy constraints at new data center campuses, lingering legal issues in consumer deals, and any policy surprise from the Fed. Market participants also flagged liquidity impact from the shutdown and the potential for volatility around survey releases.
What to watch next?
- ISM manufacturing and services: Direction of new orders, prices paid, and employment components.
- Fed speakers: Nuance on inflation progress and balance sheet views.
- AI delivery checkpoints: Updates on GPU shipments, power buildouts, and cloud availability zones.
- Earnings and guidance: Commercial momentum at AI software names and signs of broader adoption beyond early pilots.
- Consumer health: Reaction to large-cap staples M&A and read-throughs for brand pricing power.
Whether the US stocks bull run extends in a straight line will depend on these catalysts. For many managers, the playbook favors staying invested with a quality tilt, using dips to add exposure to proven AI infrastructure winners and selectively rotating into areas where fundamentals are improving but valuations lag.
Outlook
As the US stocks bull run enters November, the balance of evidence still leans positive. The Amazon-OpenAI announcement provided another proof point that AI investment is not slowing, even as the market digests pockets of consolidation and event risk. With survey data and Fed commentary set to steer the near-term narrative, the next leg will hinge on breadth improving and execution on ambitious AI roadmaps.
If companies deliver capacity on time and demand holds, the US stocks bull run could broaden beyond megacaps. Should breadth falter, a garden-variety pullback would likely be viewed as a chance to reset positioning rather than a regime change. Either way, investors will keep watching chips, cloud, and power—the arteries of today’s AI economy—to gauge the staying power of the rally.
FAQ’s
What is the Amazon–OpenAI deal and why does it matter?
AWS will supply OpenAI with hundreds of thousands of Nvidia GPUs in a $38B, seven-year pact (including GB200/GB300). It boosts AI compute supply and lifts sentiment in AI-exposed stocks.
How did the market react today?
In early New York trading, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% and the Nasdaq 100 gained 0.7%. Amazon climbed about 4.9% on the news, while Nvidia also ticked higher.
Why did Kimberly-Clark fall while Kenvue jumped?
Kimberly-Clark slid about 12% after agreeing to buy Kenvue in a roughly $40B deal, as investors weighed leverage and legal risks. Kenvue rose around 16% on the acquisition premium.
What economic data and Fed events are in focus this week?
With official data limited by the shutdown, investors are watching ISM manufacturing and services surveys. Fed officials Lisa Cook and Mary Daly will offer fresh policy insights.
Article Source: Bloomberg
