Stocks closed higher Monday, building on their impressive November gains. There was little in the way of economic news to start the holiday-shortened week, but market participants had plenty of single-stock headlines to track – including a notable analyst note for Wall Street's newest semiconductor stock.
This morning, Wells Fargo analyst Gary Mobley initiated coverage on Arm Holdings (ARM) with an Overweight rating, which is the equivalent of a Buy. "We view ARM as one of the best positioned companies within the $550 billion global semiconductor industry," Mobley says. Among the things that Arm is "well-positioned to benefit" from are China's developing domestic chip industry and higher royalty rates the company can charge for newer-generation chips.
Mobley isn't alone in his bullish outlook for Arm stock, which held its highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO) back in September. According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, 19 analysts have a Buy or Strong Buy rating on the chipmaker, compared to eight holds, one Sell and one Strong Sell.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Be a smarter, better informed investor.
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Arm shares surged 6.7% Monday, with fellow chipmakers Intel (INTC, +2.1%) and Broadcom (AVGO, +1.8%) also gaining ground. Nvidia (NVDA) was another industry winner, rising 2.3% ahead of its Tuesday night turn on the earnings calendar.
Microsoft pops after snagging ousted OpenAI CEO
In other equities news, mega-cap stock Microsoft (MSFT) jumped 2.1% after the company said it is bringing Sam Altman on board to head a new advanced artificial intelligence (AI) research team. In a startling move, Altman was fired as CEO of Microsoft-backed OpenAI on Friday and efforts over the weekend to reinstate him in the role failed. Altman, who is one of OpenAI's co-founders, chose instead to join the software giant.
"We remain committed to our partnership with OpenAI and have confidence in our product roadmap, our ability to continue to innovate," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in a statement. The executive added that Microsoft looks forward "to moving quickly to provide" Altman and fellow OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman "with the resources needed for their success."
Oppenheimer analyst Timothy Horan calls this a "win-win" for Microsoft, "as it still has full access to the best large language models (LLMs) and now the team to possibly make the next great LLM and the best AI minds in the world to help implement AI." Horan has an Outperform (Buy) rating on the Dow Jones stock.
As for the major indexes, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.1% to 14,284, the broader S&P 500 gained 0.7% to 4,547, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.6% at 35,151.
As a reminder, the stock and bond markets will be closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday and will close early on Black Friday.
Related content
-
Stocks Edge Higher With Nvidia, Fed in Focus: Stock Market TodayThe AI bellwether reports earnings after today's close, while Wall Street is keeping a cautious eye on President Trump's attacks against the Fed.
-
New Trump Tax Bill: Five Changes Homeowners Need to Know NowTax Changes Trump’s new tax legislation is reshaping how tax breaks for homeowners work.
-
Stocks Edge Higher With Nvidia, Fed in Focus: Stock Market Today
The AI bellwether reports earnings after today's close, while Wall Street is keeping a cautious eye on President Trump's attacks against the Fed.
-
President Trump Makes Markets Move Again: Stock Market TodayThe White House is moving ahead with plans to reshape the Federal Reserve and to buy shares in more sectors and stocks.
-
Stocks Struggle to Start Nvidia Week: Stock Market TodayAnother important week for the stock market starts on a risk-off note.
-
Nvidia Earnings: Live Updates and Commentary August 2025Nvidia has reported expectations-beating top- and bottom-line results again, and market participants are already parsing the AI bellwether's numbers.
-
Dow Rips 846 Points to New All-Time High: Stock Market TodayFed Chair Jerome Powell seems ready to cut interest rates in the fall but will still rely on incoming economic data about inflation and employment.
-
S&P 500 Extends Losing Streak Ahead of Powell Speech: Stock Market TodayStocks continued to struggle ahead of Fed Chair Powell's Friday morning speech at Jackson Hole.
-
Tech Sells Off While Trump Stirs the Fed: Stock Market TodayWe've reached another important part of earnings season, though markets remain captivated by the president, the Fed, and interest rate policy.
-
Dow Retreats From a Record High: Stock Market TodayQuietly rising since April, Home Depot stock was conspicuously constructive Tuesday as high-profile tech names dragged equity indexes down.
