Stock Market Midday, Oct. 21: Tech Gains Lift Nasdaq as SpaceX Soars
As of 11:41 AM ET, the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX:^IXIC) is up 1.09% to 26,717 on renewed optimism for the AI trade, the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC) has climbed 0.52% to 7,752 as technology gains offset telecom weakness, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES:^DJI) is up 0.29% to 52,647 as positive corporate reports support blue-chip resilience.
Gold is trading up 0.18% to $4,132.42 as of 11:31 AM ET while the 10-Year Treasury yield slipped slightly to 5.11%. Industrials and energy stocks led the sector gainers, while communication and real estate companies declined.
Today's biggest moves
Space Exploration Technologies surged over 10%, and its quarterly results boosted artificial intelligence (AI) sentiment. That shift helped Dell Technologies, which soared 6% in early trading. Wabtec dropped pre-market before climbing slightly following mixed earnings. Alphabet shares slid ahead of next week's earnings.
What this means for investors
Strong earnings from SpaceX reinvigorated the AI trade today, dampening recent jitters around the sustainability of massive capital outlays and the time it may take to generate returns. This helped technology-heavy indexes outperform as high-growth hardware and semiconductor leadership came back into focus.
However, one company's earnings, even blockbuster ones, do not mean AI caution is over. We are likely to see tech volatility continue as investor anxiety -- like megacap valuations -- remains elevated. Wall Street is divided on the degree to which this is a bubble and how this huge technological transformation will translate into profit. The sector is becoming more divided into winners and losers. For long-term investors, it is more important than ever to be discerning about which AI stocks are in your portfolio.
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