The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) finished higher on Monday, outperforming the NASDAQ 100, which fell alongside a 4% drop in Micron (MU) shares. The S&P 500, which includes both Micron and all 30 Dow members, closed slightly lower, just above 51,800—its highest close in over two weeks. Salesforce (CRM) was credited with about an eighth of the Dow's gain, rising as much as 5% after Bank of America upgraded the stock two notches to Buy from Underperform, citing the view that artificial intelligence (AI) will reinforce, rather than replace, enterprise software. Salesforce retained less than a third of its intraday gain by the close [1].
The Dow's price-weighted structure means that if Micron, trading just under $1,000, were a member, its decline would have cost the index over 200 points—more than the Dow's total gain for the day. Nvidia (NVDA), the only semiconductor stock in the Dow, fell along with Amazon (AMZN) and Cisco Systems (CSCO), collectively dragging the index down by about 50 points. In contrast, Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL), American Express (AXP), and Visa (V) contributed roughly 90 points to the Dow's advance, while Salesforce and Chevron (CVX) each added about 20 points. More than 20 of the 30 Dow members ended the day higher. Goldman Sachs (GS), the index's heaviest stock at nearly $890, was the largest single drag on the Dow [1].
Crude oil prices rose approximately 2%, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) near $94.00 and Brent just above $106.50, following Houthi missile fire at Riyadh's airport and a Russia-Ukraine energy truce that Kyiv claims Moscow has already violated. Chevron, the Dow's only crude oil producer, benefited from the rise in oil prices [1].
Cleveland Federal Reserve President Hammack, a voting member on policy this year, stated that a restrictive monetary stance is appropriate and advocated for smaller but quicker rate changes. The Fed's rate has remained at 3.75-4.00% since the September 16 increase under Chair Warsh, with the next decision scheduled for October 28. Hammack described Treasury yields as modest by historical standards, even as the cash Treasury market was closed for Columbus Day and the 10-year yield remained at Friday's 5.24%. She noted that mortgage rates, which are tied to the 10-year yield, could impact companies like Home Depot (HD) and Sherwin-Williams (SHW) first, while tighter policy may eventually affect industries beyond the hyperscale cloud companies such as Microsoft, Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), and Amazon [1].
CONCLUSION
The Dow Jones outperformed other major indices, buoyed by gains in Salesforce and energy stocks, while Micron's decline weighed on the NASDAQ. Market sentiment was cautiously positive, with investors responding to analyst upgrades and rising oil prices, while awaiting further guidance from the Federal Reserve.