U.S. stocks opened mixed Monday, August 17, as a surprisingly strong New York manufacturing report pushed Treasury yields higher while another burst of enthusiasm around artificial intelligence lifted chip and memory stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened down 69.3 points, or 0.13%, at 53,663.11. The S&P 500 gained 4.9 points, or 0.06%, to 7,790.68, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 55.5 points, or 0.21%, to 26,784.65. 

The morning’s main economic report was considerably stronger than expected. The New York Fed’s Empire State Manufacturing Index jumped to 20.6 in August from 15.6, its highest level in more than four years and well above the roughly 11-to-12 reading economists expected. New orders came in at 17.3 and shipments at 11.7, while employment continued to expand. The less comfortable part of the report was inflation: the prices-paid index climbed to 58.6, showing manufacturers are still facing substantial increases in input costs. 

That stronger factory reading helped push the 10-year Treasury yield back toward 4.70% to 4.71% in early trading. It matters because markets had spent the past several sessions reducing expectations for another Federal Reserve rate increase after weaker retail sales and softer inflation reports. Traders entered Monday pricing roughly a 30% chance of a September rate hike, down from around 50% a week earlier. 

Technology is providing the counterweight. Astera Labs jumped roughly 9% and Marvell about 5% in early trading, while Micron gained more than 3% and Sandisk more than 4%. Nvidia and Amazon were each up around 1%. Investors continue to favor companies supplying the memory, networking and computing infrastructure behind the AI buildout. 

Part of that enthusiasm followed new attention on Anthropic’s enormous growth projections. The AI company is forecasting roughly $190 billion to $200 billion in 2028 revenue, compared with a recently publicized annualized revenue pace of about $47 billion. Those projections are helping reinforce expectations that AI companies will continue spending heavily on chips, servers, storage and data-center infrastructure. 

Memory stocks received an additional boost after a report that the Trump administration does not want Apple relying on Chinese memory suppliers. Micron, Sandisk, Seagate and Western Digital all moved higher as investors considered the possibility that U.S. technology companies could be pushed toward non-Chinese suppliers. 

There were important moves outside technology as well. L3Harris Technologies fell nearly 3% after the defense contractor removed Chairman and CEO Christopher Kubasik following an investigation into conduct that the company said violated its code. Sam Mehta was named CEO, and L3Harris reaffirmed its 2026 financial outlook. 

Alphabet was also in focus after Berkshire Hathaway disclosed that it had increased its stake in Google’s parent by roughly 83% to nearly 106 million shares worth about $37.8 billion, making Alphabet Berkshire’s third-largest U.S. stock investment. The unusually large technology position is being watched as another sign of institutional confidence in the AI spending cycle. 

Oil remains the biggest outside risk to stocks. West Texas Intermediate traded around $82.75 a barrel and Brent near $89, with the market watching the expiration of the 60-day U.S.-Iran ceasefire period and any developments surrounding the Strait of Hormuz. Higher energy prices could quickly complicate the improving inflation picture and revive expectations for another Fed rate increase. 

One housing report was scheduled exactly at the cutoff for this recap. The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index for August was due at 10:00 a.m. ET, with economists looking for a reading around 33 versus 34 in July. At the 10:00 a.m. cutoff, the new figure had not yet been posted by NAHB or verified by major data services, so JBizNews is not publishing an unconfirmed number. 

For the rest of Monday, investors will watch Treasury yields, oil and any new U.S.-Iran headlines, along with short-term Treasury bill auctions later in the morning. With few major corporate earnings scheduled during regular trading, the broader question is whether strong AI buying can keep the S&P 500 near record territory even as stronger economic data and higher oil prices threaten to push borrowing costs back up.

JBizNews Desk | Wall Street

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