Stocks Extend Rally Into 7th Month As AI Bubble Rally Just Won't Stop

Market Overview - US equity futures indicate a strong start to November, particularly in the tech sector, with S&P 500 futures up 0.2% and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.6% as of 8:00 am ET [1] - The global equity rally has been supported by strong tech earnings and easing US-China trade tensions, with European and Asian equities also rising [1] - The 10-year US Treasury yield is at 4.11%, while commodities show mixed performance, with agricultural commodities leading and metals generally weaker [1] Corporate Earnings and Developments - The earnings season shows that 83% of S&P 500 companies have beaten analyst forecasts, with the S&P 500 on track for 13% earnings growth, up from an initial expectation of 7.2% [10][11] - The Mag-7 stocks are all higher in premarket trading, with Nvidia up 1.8% and Meta up 0.9% [3] - Palantir, a significant beneficiary of the AI boom, is expected to report earnings later in the day, with a 165% gain year-to-date [5] Notable Corporate Actions - Alvotech's shares plunged 23% after the FDA rejected its biologics application for a biosimilar candidate [3] - Cipher Mining's stock rose 21% following a $5.5 billion lease agreement with Amazon for AI workloads [3] - IREN Ltd. shares soared 22% after Microsoft signed a $9.7 billion deal to purchase AI cloud capacity from the company [3] - Kenvue's shares jumped 19% after Kimberly-Clark agreed to acquire the company for approximately $40 billion [3] Sector Performance - Earnings growth for the Mag-7 is tracking at approximately 27%, significantly higher than the 15% expansion anticipated before the reporting season [7] - The technology sector reported an earnings surprise of 8.2% and a year-over-year growth of 23.7% [11] - Consumer discretionary and financial sectors also showed strong earnings surprises of 16.1% and 7.5%, respectively [11] Trade and Regulatory Developments - China has suspended curbs on rare earths and halted investigations into US companies in the chip supply chain, signaling a potential easing of trade tensions [1][12] - The US is expected to suspend port fees for a year on China-linked vessels starting next week, indicating a thaw in trade relations [12] - Pfizer is suing Novo Nordisk to block its rival bid for an obesity startup, highlighting ongoing competitive dynamics in the pharmaceutical sector [4]