US stocks: Dow rockets 1,100 points, S&P over 2% as oil slide cools inflation worries; Nvidia slumps

US stocks rallied sharply on Monday as falling oil prices eased inflation concerns and helped the S&P 500 rebound from its steepest weekly decline since April 2025. Technology shares also surged, even as AI heavyweight Nvidia tumbled amid uncertainty surrounding CEO Jensen Huang, Reuters reported.

The S&P 500 climbed 172.97 points, or 2.34%, to close at 7,549.83. The Nasdaq Composite gained 671.13 points, or 2.73%, to 25,250.55, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1,104.20 points, or 2.16%, to 52,394.36.

Stocks fell sharply last week after Democrats swept the US midterm elections, fuelling concerns that tighter regulations could threaten the durability of the artificial intelligence trade.

Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors gained more than 1% on Monday. Industrials and consumer discretionary led the advance, rising about 4% each.

The broader market rallied despite a steep decline in Nvidia, the world’s second-most valuable company. Its shares touched their lowest intraday level since March 31 as investors questioned Huang’s future at the chipmaker following an internal investigation into whether he had been targeted by a foreign intelligence operation.

“The AI story is not going away if people are worried about that. The Democrats are not going to destroy AI. They can’t. It’s got a life of its own. They can put regulation around it, but they’re certainly not stopping it,” Ken Polcari, partner and chief market strategist at SlateStone Wealth in Jupiter, Florida told Reuters.

A sharp decline in crude-oil prices provided further support by easing concerns about inflation after US President Donald Trump played down the likelihood of renewed strikes on Iran.“Oil prices for sure, if they’re down, that’s certainly adding fuel to the fire,” Polcari said.

Investors are now awaiting key inflation reports. The Labor Department is scheduled to release October’s Consumer Price Index on Tuesday, followed by the Producer Price Index on Friday.

Some Wall Street analysts described last week’s sell-off as an overreaction. Morgan Stanley and UBS said the rout in AI-linked stocks appeared excessive, arguing that the risk of severe restrictions on data-centre development remained low despite Democratic majorities in Congress.

Expectations for an interest-rate increase at the Federal Reserve’s December meeting remained above 80%, according to CME FedWatch. October’s strong jobs report was seen as giving the central bank room to continue raising rates, even as oil prices eased.

Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin said on Monday that the central bank should adjust monetary policy “with care” as it formulates its response to inflation.

Chipmakers rallied strongly. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumped about 7% after tumbling more than 12% last week, its steepest weekly decline since the week ended April 4, 2025.

Nvidia was the index’s only decliner on Monday, while Broadcom and Advanced Micro Devices provided the biggest boosts.

KKR shares advanced after the investment firm reported record quarterly profit. Constellation Energy, which has exposure to the AI infrastructure buildout, surged more than 10% after its adjusted third-quarter profit exceeded expectations.

Berkshire Hathaway’s Class A shares also gained after the conglomerate reported lower third-quarter profit.

(Disclaimer: This article is based on inputs from agencies. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)