Altman Hire Lifts Microsoft 2.1%

Wall Street rises to its best level since early August
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Nov 20, 2023 3:51 PM CST
Wall Street Rises to Its Highest Since August
Sam Altman, left, appears onstage with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at OpenAI's first developer conference, on Nov. 6, 2023, in San Francisco.   (AP Photo/Barbara Ortutay, File)

Wall Street posted solid gains to begin a holiday-shortened week, reaching its highest level in more than three months.

  • The S&P 500 gained 33.36 points, or 0.7%, to 4,547.38, coming off its third straight winning week.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 203.76, or 0.6%, to 33,151.04.
  • The Nasdaq composite climbed 159.05, or 1.1%, to 14,284.5.
Microsoft was the strongest force lifting the market. The tech giant rose 2.1% after announcing it was bringing on Sam Altman for a new venture following his sudden dismissal as CEO of OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, the AP reports.

Microsoft said it will also continue its partnership with OpenAI, as fervor around artificial-intelligence technology and the huge profits it is expected to create continue to dominate Wall Street. Stocks broadly drifted higher through the day, before they took a decisive swing upward in the afternoon when yields fell in the bond market following an auction of Treasurys. Easing Treasury yields over recent weeks have been the main reason for a strong rally for stocks.

This week is relatively light on economic reports given Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday. A profit report from Nvidia coming Tuesday may be the highlight. Nvidia carries huge sway on the S&P 500 and other indexes because it has swelled to become the fifth-most valuable US stock. Much of that rise has been because of excitement around AI, and Nvidia's report could offer clues on how much all the talk about AI is translating into actual sales. Analysts expect Nvidia to say its earnings per more than quintupled from a year earlier and that its revenue soared to nearly $16.2 billion from less than $6 billion.

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Nvidia rose 2.3% before its report. On the losing end of Wall Street Monday was Kohl's. The retailer fell 2.7% after it said that Dave Alves left as its president and chief operating officer, less than nine months after naming him to the post. (More stock market stories.)

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