Dow Jones Industrial Average posts modest gain as funds rotate out of tech stocks

• About two-thirds of the DJIA's advance has unwound. The index remains above Friday's close.
• Over 7% slide in Crude Oil on Iran developments; Sherwin-Williams and Home Depot lead gains.
• Tuesday brings the midterms, followed by October payrolls on Friday.

$20 billion is the amount Oracle (ORCL) filed to raise for artificial intelligence (AI). Investors responded by selling technology shares and buying the industrial and retail stocks that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average. After advancing from just above 51,800 to just below 52,500, the index surrendered about two-thirds of the gain to trade just above 52,000. Trading throughout the session has remained within Friday's range.

Gains of 5.6% for Sherwin-Williams (SHW) and 3.3% for Home Depot (HD) came as construction spending recorded its biggest monthly fall since April 2020, driven largely by housing. Funding and deal developments sent Oracle, Marvell (MRVL) and Lumentum (LITE) down 6%-18%. None belongs to the Dow. Losses among the index's technology constituents were smaller: Nvidia (NVDA) slipped about 0.5%, while Apple (AAPL) shed 2% ahead of its results.

President Trump's statement that he was in no hurry to resume the war with Iran sent Crude Oil more than 7% lower. At 55.5, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) factory index exceeded the 54.6 forecast, while its prices index declined to 75.2. With orders expanding and fuel costs falling, Dow manufacturers Honeywell (HON), 3M (MMM) and Boeing (BA) each gained more than 2%.

65K Payrolls Forecast: The Week's Data Calendar

Friday's October nonfarm payrolls release at 13:30 GMT is expected to show 65K, up from 29K, while unemployment is forecast to remain at 4.2%. Before that, September job openings arrive on Tuesday at 15:00 GMT. Wednesday's ISM services index, also due at 15:00 GMT, is forecast at 54.8 versus 54.9 previously. All these releases have implications for demand at the industrial and retail companies driving the Dow's advance.

52,100: Dow Trades Below 50-Day EMA

More than a third of the advance from the October 1 low just above 50,500 to the late-October high near 52,900 has been erased. The index now sits just beneath its 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), near 52,100, but remains comfortably above the 200-day EMA near 50,750. After two weeks in overbought territory, daily momentum has moved out of that zone.

5-minute chart: Dow Jones

Daily chart: Dow Jones