Stocks Supported by the AI Spending Boom

Market Overview - The ongoing US government shutdown is impacting market sentiment and delaying key economic reports, with estimates suggesting that 640,000 federal workers may be furloughed, potentially raising the unemployment rate to 4.7% [2] - Stock indexes are slightly higher, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 10 reaching new all-time highs, driven by strong performance in chip makers and AI infrastructure stocks [4][5] - Rising corporate earnings expectations are providing a bullish backdrop for stocks, with over 22% of S&P 500 companies guiding for Q3 earnings that are expected to exceed analysts' expectations [7] Company Performance - Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) has surged more than +6%, following a +23% increase, after being upgraded by Jeffries with a price target of $300 due to its deal with OpenAI [13] - Dell Technologies (DELL) is up more than +5% as it projects a 15% or more increase in annual adjusted EPS driven by booming AI demand [14] - International Business Machines (IBM) has increased more than +3% after announcing the integration of Anthropic's Claude family of large language models into its software portfolio [14] Sector Movements - Homebuilder stocks are under pressure after Evercore ISI downgraded the sector to in line from outperform, with major companies like DR Horton (DHI) and Lennar (LEN) down more than -2% [17] - Autoliv (ALV) is down more than -2% following a downgrade by UBS to neutral from buy [18] - Ford Motor (F) is down more than -5% due to reported disruptions from a major fire at an aluminum plant in New York [16]