Wall Street Loses Steam Despite Amazon’s Record Rally – Key Market Movers on November 1, 2025
- Why Is Wall Street Stalling After Strong Open?
- How Amazon Became Today's Unquestioned Leader
- What the Surprise Chicago PMI Reveals
- Earnings Deep Dive: Who Won and Lost?
- The Streaming Wars Take a Surprising Turn
- Pharma Battle: Novo Nordisk Outbids Pfizer
- Frequently Asked Questions
While Amazon soared 10% to all-time highs after stellar cloud earnings, Wall Street struggled for direction on November 1, 2025. The Nasdaq edged up 0.72% but the Dow barely moved as investors digested mixed corporate earnings and Jerome Powell's tempered rate cut expectations. We break down the key market drivers including surprising PMI data, Big Tech earnings surprises, and why energy stocks dragged despite oil price rebounds.
Why Is Wall Street Stalling After Strong Open?
The markets opened strong but lost momentum by afternoon trading. The Dow Jones inched up just 0.06% to 47,548 points while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.72% to 23,752 points. The 10-year Treasury yield stabilized around 4.1% after Wednesday's spike when Fed Chair Powell cooled December rate cut hopes. "It's classic profit-taking after the October rally," noted BTCC market analyst David Chen. "Traders are locking gains ahead of Friday's jobs report."
How Amazon Became Today's Unquestioned Leader
Amazon shares skyrocketed 10.52% to $246.30 after AWS posted its strongest cloud growth since 2022. CEO Andy Jassy highlighted accelerating enterprise adoption, triggering a wave of target price hikes:
| Bank | Previous Target | New Target |
|---|---|---|
| HSBC | $260 | $285 |
| JPMorgan | $265 | $305 |
| UBS | $279 | $310 |
Meanwhile, Apple rose modestly after beating EPS estimates ($1.85 vs $1.77 expected) and reporting 8% revenue growth to $102.47 billion.
What the Surprise Chicago PMI Reveals
The Chicago Purchasing Managers' Index shocked markets by jumping to 43.8 in October versus 42.3 expectations - its highest since July. "This suggests regional manufacturing might be stabilizing," observed Chen, though he cautioned "one data point doesn't make a trend."
Earnings Deep Dive: Who Won and Lost?
AbbVie's adjusted EPS of $1.86 beat estimates ($1.78) despite net income dropping sharply year-over-year.
Both Chevron and ExxonMobil reported declining profits. Chevron cited lower crude prices and Hess acquisition costs, while Exxon's free cash Flow nearly halved to $6.33 billion.
First Solar shone with revenue doubling to $1.6 billion and EPS jumping to $4.25 from $2.92 last year.
Linde delivered strong 24.45% net income growth to $1.929 billion.
The Streaming Wars Take a Surprising Turn
Reuters reported Netflix is exploring a bid for Warner Bros Discovery's studio assets - potentially acquiring franchises like Harry Potter and Superman. "This WOULD be Netflix's biggest content play since the 2023 writers' strike ended," commented media analyst Rebecca Wong.
Pharma Battle: Novo Nordisk Outbids Pfizer
In a developing story, Metsera deemed Novo Nordisk's unsolicited offer superior to Pfizer's merger agreement. Pfizer now has four business days to renegotiate terms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Amazon stock surge today?
Amazon shares jumped 10.52% after AWS cloud division reported its strongest growth since 2022, prompting multiple Wall Street banks to raise price targets.
How did Jerome Powell impact markets?
The Fed Chair's comments on Wednesday tempered expectations for December rate cuts, causing Treasury yields to rise initially before stabilizing at 4.1%.
Which energy companies reported earnings?
Both Chevron and ExxonMobil reported declining year-over-year profits due to lower crude prices, though refining margins provided some offset.
