U.S. equities end mixed: Dow climbs, Nasdaq indices drop

U.S. equities finished on a mixed note to kick off November. The Dow Industrial Average climbed, while the S&P 500 and both Nasdaq benchmarks ended in the red. Leading the falls, the Nasdaq 100 dropped 1.39% as selling persisted among semiconductor and AI-linked stocks.

Trading began with expectations of a rebound following a tough October for tech companies. Reduced oil prices, alongside fresh hope from U.S.-Iran talks, buoyed the early tone. But that support failed to sustain the wider indices at elevated levels. Buyers got their opportunity, yet the final figures indicate they could not retain command.

Focus now moves to Apple and Palantir earnings scheduled after the bell and to Tuesday's U.S. midterm elections. These developments could provide traders new impetus as they weigh whether the tech sector can regain its balance.

Closing levels for the major U.S. stock indices:

• Dow Industrial Average climbed 214.02 points, or 0.41 percent, to 51,989.19.

• S&P 500 fell 38.67 points, or 0.51 percent, to 7,541.40.

• Nasdaq Composite declined 272.68 points, or 1.07 percent, to 25,164.32.

• Russell 2000 lost 5.97 points, or 0.21 percent, to 2,805.88.

• Nasdaq 100 dropped 395.03 points, or 1.39 percent, to 27,989.82.

The Dow's advance set it apart from the rest of the market. Small-cap stocks also closed down, but their drop was far smaller than those seen in the Nasdaq indices. It was yet another trading day where the index under scrutiny mattered considerably.

Magnificent Seven: Amazon and Tesla swim against the current

Amazon and Tesla offered islands of strength, yet five of the seven megacap stocks ended lower. Microsoft recorded the steepest percentage loss.

• Amazon rose 2.20% to $245.63.

• Tesla added 1.00% to $403.82.

• Alphabet slipped 0.30% to $278.99.

• Nvidia declined 1.26% to $202.06.

• Meta Platforms fell 1.34% to $606.73.

• Apple dropped 1.54% to $339.31.

• Microsoft tumbled 2.83% to $507.12.

Amazon's recovery heartened buyers following its earnings-driven weakness the week before. But the increases in two of the biggest tech names could not pull either Nasdaq index into positive territory.

AI-related selling extends across the supply chain

The softness spread past the processor designers. Optical components, networking chips, memory, storage, cloud infrastructure, and software were all among the standout fallers.

Sorting the listed companies by their functions illustrates how broadly the sell-off reached:

• Optical communications: Lumentum slid 18.59% to $684.40. Its optical components assist in data transmission over high-speed networks and data centers.

• Data-center connectivity and networking chips: Marvell lost 12.72% to $171.41, Astera Labs shed 11.22% to $229.67, and Credo Technology dropped 7.27% to $140.02.

• Processors and semiconductor manufacturing: Intel shed 8.80% to $59.97 and AMD lost 7.52% to $466.84.

• Memory and storage: Western Digital dropped 7.52% to $338.59, Sandisk gave up 6.59% to $1,075.08, and Micron slipped 5.85% to $832.94.

• AI cloud infrastructure: CoreWeave slid 8.60% to $50.15 and Nebius declined 8.27% to $141.39.

• Cloud monitoring and software: Datadog dropped 8.15% to $216.10.

These firms sit in different segments of the tech ecosystem. Their common link to data-center expansion and AI spending clarifies why traders view them as a group, even while their specific businesses and risk profiles vary.

Intel finds no relief

Intel stayed a prominent weak link after its steep post-earnings drop the prior week. Its stock declined a further $5.79, or 8.80 percent, to $59.97.

For those buyers seeking stability, another large decline gave little comfort. A stock can appear significantly cheaper following a sharp