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The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) and benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose on Monday, with US stocks eyeing an upbeat start to June as hopes for rate cuts revive and the meme-stock mania roars back.

The Nasdaq and S&P rose about 0.8% and 0.4%, respectively, as Nvidia (NVDA) shares popped on the heels of an AI chip update. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) hovered around the flatline.

A surge in GameStop (GME) shares grabbed the spotlight, firing up speculation again of a return to a 2021-style meme rally. The stock skyrocketed over 100% at one point in early trading after a Reddit post apparently by Keith Gill — AKA “Roaring Kitty” — showed a big bet by the influential trader. Fellow meme darling AMC’s (AMC) shares shot up as much as 27% alongside the move.

Shares of GME, which were briefly halted for volatility, pared gains to about 50% shortly after the opening bell.

Overall, stocks are on track to build on their strong performance in May, which saw all three major gauges break records during the month. The mood has turned more positive after PCE data gave hope that inflation has turned a corner, prompting optimism that the Federal Reserve will look more kindly on a cut to borrowing costs.

Read more: How does the labor market affect inflation?

Given that, the May jobs report and other labor prints later this week will test investor sentiment on the Fed’s path. Traders have stepped up bets on a Fed cut in September compared with a week ago, per the CME FedWatch tool.

Meanwhile, gains for Nvidia at a comeback for the AI enthusiasm that has lifted techs. Shares rose about 4% shortly after the open after the chipmaker unveiled a new AI platform and promised to accelerate the pace of model upgrades. Rival AMD’s (AMD) stock also tipped higher alongside the release of its own new AI line-up and development plans.

Live7 updates

  • ISM report shows further contracting in manufacturing activity

    Fresh data out Monday showed a mixed reading on activity in the manufacturing sector in May.

    The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing PMI indicated the manufacturing sector moved further into contraction in May, while a measure from S&P Global showed manufacturing activity increased more than initially thought in May.

    The ISM’s manufacturing PMI registered a reading of 48.7 in May, down from a reading of 49.2 and lower than the 49.5 economists expected, according to Bloomberg data.

    “US manufacturing activity continued in contraction after growing in March, the first expansion for the sector since September 2022,” Timothy Fiore, chair of the ISM’s manufacturing business survey committee, said in the company’s release. “Demand was soft again, output was stable, and inputs stayed accommodative.”

    Fiore added: “Demand remains elusive as companies demonstrate an unwillingness to invest due to current monetary policy and other conditions.”

    S&P Global’s own manufacturing PMI reading out Monday showed US manufacturing activity hit a reading of 51.3, up from a prior reading of 50.9 while new orders in the sector returned to growth.

  • Nasdaq, S&P 500 rise at the open

    Markets opened mostly higher on Monday to kick off the first trading day of June.

    The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) and benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose about 0.8% and 0.4%, respectively, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) hovered around the flatline.

    A surge in GameStop (GME) shares grabbed the spotlight, firing up speculation again of a return to a 2021-style meme rally. Shares of GME were halted for volatility after climbing about 64% higher shortly after the opening bell.

  • Ford CEO to Yahoo Finance on EV profits

    Ford (F) CEO Jim Farley told me in a new episode of Yahoo Finance’s ‘Opening Bid‘ podcast that he has a date in mind when Ford will make money from EVs.

    But he didn’t want to share it with me during a sit-down in Detroit! Ford is slated to lose about $5 billion in its EV division this year.

    I did appreciate though that Farley is focused on running a profitable EV business, and that includes streamlining costs and pulling back on aggressive EV plant buildout timelines.

    You can watch the full episode below, or listen in in all major podcast platforms such as Spotify, Apple, Amazon, Pandora and iHeartmedia.

  • Nvidia keeps on rolling sentiment wise

    Nvidia (NVDA) shares are getting a 3% pop pre-market after another well-received presentation from founder Jensen Huang, this time at Computex in Taipei.

    The most important thing was Nvidia unveiling its next generation of AI chips dubbed Rubin. This is impressive stuff, as Nvidia just announced new AI chips in March.

    “Net-net, we view all four announcements as great depiction of Nvidia’s efforts to lean on its existing AI accelerator dominance to establish a robust presence in what is for the company a mostly untapped combined accelerated computing total addressable market of $1 trillion plus going from AI networking to the largely CPU-centered server market,” Citi analyst Atik Malik said in a client note.

    Unsurprisingly, Malik maintained a buy rating on Nvidia shares.

    Catch up on Nvidia via Yahoo Finance’s recent exclusive interview with Huang.

  • The vibe around software stocks after Salesforce shocker

    Salesforce (CRM) earnings last week really left a bad taste in the mouth of tech bulls.

    So much so they voiced their concerns at a closely watched Jefferies tech conference in Newport Beach late last week.

    Here are a couple key takeaways from Jefferies tech analyst Brent Thill:

    • “Macro headwinds persist. Investor sentiment in the software space remains negative as companies call out the tough macro environment. The weakness was broad-based across front-office, back-office, large enterprises, and small businesses. Workday (WDAY) and Salesforce both highlighted weak growth in EMEA.”

    • “AI crowding out. Despite the long-term industry tailwinds surrounding AI, investor concerns surrounded near-term budget shifts away from software as companies focus on semis and hardware.”

  • Reminder on June for stocks

    June is the second worst-performing month of the year for the S&P 500 the last 15-years.

    Helpful chart from BTIG this morning.

    June is often a challenging period for markets.June is often a challenging period for markets.

    June is often a challenging period for markets. (BTIG)

  • GameStop explodes

    And so starts the week….

    GameStop (GME) shares are up 85% pre-market (were up as much as 103%) as meme overlord Keith Gill appeared to disclose a $116 million position in the video game retailer on Reddit. It was his first post in three years.

    Note the post couldn’t be verified, similar to one made from his X account a couple weeks ago.

    All I can say is be careful with this one!

    If anything, the real play is to do some research on is Reddit (RDDT) given the heightened activity on the platform. Start your fact-finding mission here.

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