US STOCKS-Wall St rises on AI gains as oil slides, Treasury yields retreat

The main US stock indexes advanced on Monday, powered by gains in AI firms, as Treasury yields eased and crude prices tumbled more than 3% to hit an 11-day low on the prospect of a breakthrough in Middle East talks at a UN meeting this week. Investors took comfort from data that ‌suggested spending on AI was still expanding, placating concerns around doomsday warnings from the leaders of AI giants a week ago that triggered a global tech selloff.

Chip companies rallied. Intel rose 13%, Advanced Micro Devices surged 9.3% to become the latest chipmaker to reach $1 trillion in market valuation, while Micron gained 2.3%. Meta soared 6.7% to a more than seven-month high after brokerage Wells Fargo hiked its price target on the stock, while Accenture gained 3.2% after ‌partnering with Anthropic to invest $2 billion in AI evaluation.

"The excitement in the build-out and adoption of AI has really driven a lot of the growth in corporate profits and a lot of the gains ‌in the stock market over the past few years," said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Northlight Asset Management. "Is there going to be a trade-off between safety and productivity benefits? That argument is going to continue for many months to come, if not many years."

While Washington and Tehran continued to exchange new threats through the weekend, US President Donald Trump said he would be open to meeting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is expected at the UN General Assembly in New York this week. A fall in oil prices eased ⁠the pressure ​on equities as the 10-year US bond yield slipped below ⁠the critical 5% mark. Airlines such as American and Delta, typically sensitive to energy prices,rose marginally.

Still, investors were wary of the interest-rate outlook after a recent pickup in inflation prompted the US Federal Reserve to raise rates for the first time in three years. Markets ⁠see a 50% chance of another hike next month, CME's FedWatch showed. Commentary from at least 10 central bank policymakers is due this week.

Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said there was "no ambiguity" about the need for higher interest rates, with inflation pressures ​now moving beyond tariffs and energy prices to strong demand. At 11:22 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 259.21 points, or 0.50%, to 51,940.71, the S&P 500 added 80.65 points, or ⁠1.05%, to 7,731.15, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 430.51 points, or 1.62%, to 26,953.06.

Seven of the 11 S&P 500 sectors were trading higher. Communication services was in the top spot with a 2.9% rise, while energy led declines. DIPLOMACY IN FOCUS

Progress in diplomatic negotiations between the ⁠United States ​and Denmark over the weekend on the status of Greenland also aided sentiment and was likely to allay trade tensions between the countries. US-listed shares of companies exposed to Greenland rose. Critical Metals soared 35%, while Greenland Mines and Greenland Energy each more than doubled in value.

The China-US summit on Thursday could touch upon topics including potentially extending the trade truce between the two superpowers, the Iran war, as well as regulation on ⁠AI advances. A report said the US proposedto extend the trade truce by six months, while China sought a longer extension. Bitcoin, a key marker of risk tolerance, rose 6.3% to hit a more than ⁠seven-month high, lifting Coinbase and Strategy 5.8% and 8%, respectively.

Paramount ⁠Skydance gained 8.5% after a source told Reuters the company hadreached a settlement with California and 11 other states suing to block its $110 billion merger with Warner Bros Discovery. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.82-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.88-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 4 new 52-week ‌highs and 27 new lows, while ‌the Nasdaq Composite recorded 41 new highs and 89 new lows. (Reporing by Johann M Cherian and Tharuniyaa Lakshmi ​in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Pooja Desai)