Mega-Caps Lead a Mixed Start to November

Stocks opened November on uneven footing as mega-cap tech strength contrasted with softness across the broader market. The S&P 500 added 0.2%, the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.5%.

Amazon (AMZN +4.0%) fueled early optimism after unveiling a $38 billion, seven-year AWS compute deal with OpenAI, a move that reinforced its leadership in cloud infrastructure. The agreement gives OpenAI access to hundreds of thousands of NVIDIA (NVDA +2.2%) GPUs with the ability to scale into tens of millions of CPUs, deepening the companies’ roles in powering AI growth.

NVIDIA rose in tandem, also supported by reports that the U.S. will allow Microsoft (MSFT –0.2%) to export its chips to the UAE. Together, Amazon and NVIDIA’s strength lifted the consumer discretionary (+1.7%) and information technology (+0.4%) sectors — the only two in positive territory for most of the session.

Tesla (TSLA +2.6%) added to consumer-discretionary momentum, while the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF gained 0.6%, underscoring the continued dominance of large-cap growth. The market-weighted S&P 500 again outperformed its equal-weighted counterpart.

Late-day gains in utilities and health care helped those groups edge modestly higher. Within health care, IDEXX Labs (IDXX +14.8%) led all S&P 500 names after a beat-and-raise earnings report.

Elsewhere, losses narrowed as the session progressed. Materials (-0.6%) and consumer staples (-0.5%) lagged, the latter weighed by Kimberly-Clark (KMB –14.6%), which tumbled after announcing a $48.7 billion acquisition of Kenvue (KVUE +12.5%). The deal expands Kimberly-Clark’s footprint into higher-margin consumer health products but raised leverage concerns among investors.

Macro news was muted. Fed Governor Lisa Cook reiterated that policy isn’t on a “predetermined path,” while San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said rate cuts in December remain a possibility. Market expectations for a 25-basis-point cut next month held steady at roughly 65%, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Trade headlines offered a modest tailwind after the White House confirmed a U.S.–China trade agreement that lowers overall tariffs by 10% and delays the planned 100% hike for another year.

Overall, Monday’s session showcased the continued dominance of the mega-caps, led by Amazon’s record run and NVIDIA’s AI-driven momentum. Investors now turn to Palantir Technologies (PLTR +3.3%), reporting after the close, for the next potential spark in the AI trade.

Our FTinvest 11 model portfolio retreated modestly on Monday, easing 0.38% to close at 837.67 after a choppy session. The index dived down from the start, but recovered most of the losses afternoon.

The broader market showed a different pattern: the S&P 500 edged slightly higher while the Nasdaq posted modest gains, driven by pockets of strength in mega-cap tech. However, weaker breadth across cyclical and mid-cap names limited follow-through buying, which weighed on FTInvest 11’s diversified mix.

Despite the day’s decline, FTinvest 11 remains within reach of its recent highs, reflecting a generally resilient tone in equities. The index’s near-term path will likely depend on the continuation of earnings momentum in key portfolio names and the market’s reaction to upcoming macro data, including inflation figures and central bank commentary later this week.