A renewed wave of dip buying drove stocks toward their best day since August in the wake of a technology selloff that roiled Wall Street, with the market also gaining as oil prices tumbled.
Following a drawdown in one of the world’s most-crowded trades, a gauge of chipmakers jumped 4.5%. The S&P 500 rose 1.8%. The Nasdaq 100 added 2.5% That’s despite a 5% drop in Nvidia Corp. amid an investigation into Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang after his admission of an affair with a woman identified in a series of reports as a suspected Chinese spy.
Brent crude sank to $94 as optimism mounted over efforts to end the war in Iran. President Donald Trump struck a more conciliatory tone, saying it’s “highly unlikely” he will order extensive strikes on the Islamic Republic. Still, Secretary of State Marco Rubio played down the chances of rapid progress in talks.
Lower energy costs reduced anxiety about inflation, sending bond yields lower. That’s on the eve of a report on consumer prices — the last before the Federal Reserve meeting in December.
The sharp deterioration in momentum that played out in equities last week may have pushed investor pessimism close to peak levels, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists.