Key Takeaways

• The S&P 500 added 0.8% on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, as tech gains helped push the index to an all-time high.

• Shares of companies exposed to AI technology, including chipmaker Nvidia and electric utility Vistra, helped drive the strong performance.

• CrowdStrike shares moved lower, reversing some of the gains posted last week after the cybersecurity stock appeared on a list of top software picks.

Major U.S. equities indexes moved higher in the first session of the new trading week as tech gains helped pushed major indexes to new highs, with earnings season set to pick up steam later in the week.

The S&P 500 advanced 0.8% on Monday, adding to the benchmark index's all-time high Friday for a second straight record close. The Dow was up 0.5%, closing above the 43,000 level for the first time, and the Nasdaq gained 0.9%.

Shares of power generator Vistra (VST) jumped 5.6% on Monday to notch the best daily performance of any S&P 500 constituent after BNP Paribas initiated coverage on the stock with an "outperform" rating. BNP also established a price target of $230 on Vistra shares, representing upside potential of around 74% from Monday's close. Vistra surpassed Nvidia (NVDA) last month as the S&P 500's top performer for 2024, riding a wave of enthusiasm around the company's opportunity to provide nuclear-generated power for artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.

It was also a strong day for semiconductor stocks, with shares of AI darling Nvidia reaching an all-time high after several bullish comments from Wall Street analysts. Citi analysts said yesterday Nvidia is “still king” when it comes to its client base in the AI accelerator market, and that its GPU sales to hyperscalers like Alphabet's (GOOGL) Google and Microsoft (MSFT) could double this year.

Shares of Amentum (AMTM), which began trading last month following a spinoff from the engineering and construction firm Jacobs Solutions (J), were up 5.5%. The gains on Monday came after Truist initiated coverage of Amentum shares with a "buy" rating and $31 price target, suggesting over 9% upside as the company could outperform cost-savings forecasts.

Shares of discount retailer Dollar General (DG) dropped 3.3%, marking the heaviest losses in the S&P 500 on Monday. Investment management firm Heartland Advisors published a report pinpointing Dollar General as one of the weakest-performing stocks in its midcap value fund during the third quarter. Shares of competitor Dollar Tree (DLTR) ended the session 3.1% lower.

CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD) shares sank 3%. The downturn reversed a portion of the strong gains posted by the stock last week after RBC Capital analysts included CrowdStrike stock among their top picks in the software space, contending that the cybersecurity firm is successfully navigating the fallout from an incident in July when a malfunctioning software update caused extensive tech outages. However, CrowdStrike still faces potential repercussions from the incident. In its earnings report released last week, Delta Air Lines (DAL) cited the negative impact of the outage and said the carrier continues to seek compensation from the cybersecurity firm.

Arch Capital Group (ACGL) shares slipped 2.9% after the specialty insurer announced a shakeup of its executive team. The company tapped Nicolas Papadopoulo to step into the chief executive officer (CEO) role and join the board of directors, effective immediately. Papadopoulo takes the reins from retiring CEO Marc Grandisson, who held the position since 2018.

Shares of lithium producer Albemarle (ALB) fell 2.4% on Monday. The British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto (RIO) announced last week that it would acquire Albemarle competitor Arcadium Lithium (ALTM) in an all-cash deal worth $6.7 billion. Albemarle was reportedly on Rio Tinto's radar as a potential takeover target before the multinational miner decided on Arcadium.

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