US STOCKS-S&P 500, Nasdaq climb as AI-linked stocks recover ahead of earnings

Apple

Mon 15:31

    * Indexes: Dow down 0.20%, S&P up 0.45%, Nasdaq up 0.95%
    * Intel shares rise after J.P.Morgan upgrades to 'neutral'
    * Cleveland-Cliffs gains after Q3 profit beat
    * CoreWeave gets a 'buy' rating from Goldman Sachs

    (Updates for market open)
    By Tharuniyaa Lakshmi and Ragini Mathur
       Oct 19 (Reuters) - The benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq
Composite gained on Monday, as AI-related stocks rebounded from
last week's sharp selloff, with easing oil prices providing
additional support ahead of key earnings reports this week.
    Both indexes had posted their biggest weekly drop since late
June on Friday, as concerns that higher interest rates could
curb investments in AI infrastructure weighed on technology
stocks, particularly data center operators.
    The selloff reflected mounting investor unease over how the
costly AI build-out will be financed, a question that has
increasingly pressured companies underpinning the US bull
market, which recently marked its fourth anniversary.
    The blue-chip Dow, however, was weighed down by modest
declines in JPMorgan Chase  JPM.N , Sherwin-Williams  SHW.N  and
Visa  V.N . The session coincided with the 39th anniversary of
Black Monday, the 1987 crash when the Dow Jones Industrial
Average index had tumbled 22.6%.
    Chipmakers Broadcom  AVGO.O  climbed 2.2% and Micron  MU.O 
jumped 4.3% on Monday. The Philadelphia Semiconductor
Index  .SOX  rose 2.5%, putting it on course to end an eight-day
losing streak, its longest run of declines since October 2008.
    Amazon.com  AMZN.O  was up 2.3% after Morgan Stanley named
the e-commerce and cloud computing firm as its "top pick".
    Goldman Sachs upgraded CoreWeave  CRWV.O  to "buy" from
"neutral", saying the recent selloff offers a buying
opportunity. Shares of the data center firm were last up 0.2%,
after plunging more than 25% last week on worries over its $50
billion debt load.
    "The tech sell off last week because of the rise in interest
rates and the problems with CoreWeave sending shockwaves through
the market. I don't think that is over just yet," said Sam
Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research.
    "Certainly, corporate reports are all going to be important
this week, but investors will be evaluating which companies are
most vulnerable."
    Meta  META.O  is expected to beat Wall Street expectations
when it reports results on Wednesday. Elon Musk-led Tesla's
 TSLA.O  earnings are also due that day, while SpaceX  SPCX.O 
is scheduled to report on Tuesday.
    At 09:52 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average  .DJI 
fell 102.02 points, or 0.20%, to 51,900.39. The S&P 500  .SPX 
gained 34.27 points, or 0.45%, to 7,693.71, while the Nasdaq
Composite  .IXIC  rose 249.13 points, or 0.95%, to 26,389.16.
    Most S&P 500 constituents posted losses but the heavy-weight
technology sector  .SPLRCT  led gains with a 1.2% increase.
    Brent futures  LCOc1  were last down 1.3% at around $108 a
barrel, following US President Donald Trump's decision to waive
some sanctions on Russia.  O/R 
    Intel  INTC.O  shares rose 5.1% after J.P.Morgan upgraded
the stock to "neutral" from "underweight."
    Cleveland-Cliffs  CLF.N  surged 8.7% after the steelmaker
surpassed analysts' estimate for third-quarter profit.
    Declining issues outnumbered advancers by 1.18-to-1 on the
NYSE, while advancing issues outnumbered decliners by the same
ratio on the Nasdaq.
    The S&P 500 posted eight new 52-week highs and two new lows,
and the Nasdaq Composite recorded 12 new highs and 120 new lows.

    (Reporting by Tharuniyaa Lakshmi and Ragini Mathur in
Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
 ((tharuniyaa@thomsonreuters.com))