AI Stocks Push S&P Higher Yet Again

The S&P 500 rose on Monday, spurred by a rise in artificial intelligence names, to start a shortened holiday week.

The Dow Jones Industrials hiked 227.79 points, to 48,362.68.

The much-broader index jumped 43.99 points to 6,878.49.

The NASDAQ jumped 121.21 points to 23,428.83.

Key stocks linked to artificial intelligence offered a boost to the broader market. Nvidia shares moved higher by more than 1% after Reuters said the company is looking to begin shipments of its H200 chips to China by mid-February.

Meanwhile, Micron Technology grew around 4%, while Oracle advanced more than 3%.

Wall Street is coming off a mixed week for the major averages. A late-week surge in tech stocks helped lift the S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite to their third winning week in four. The 30-stock Dow, which has outperformed this month, fell 0.7%, snapping a three-week winning streak.

However, investors are watching to see whether AI stocks can retain their leadership heading into the year-end, especially as investors rotate into cheaper parts of the market amid concerns about lofty tech valuations. There’s also doubt about whether a Santa Claus rally will materialize, as the S&P 500 struggles to hold a key technical level.

The New York Stock Exchange will close early on Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET on Christmas Eve and will be closed Thursday for Christmas Day.

Prices for the 10-year Treasury lost ground, raising yields to 4.17% from Friday’s 4.15%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices increased $1.47 to $57.99.

Gold prices spiked $85.80 to $4,473.10.