US STOCKS-US stock futures rise on AI optimism; Kimberly-Clark plunges after Kenvue deal

By Twesha Dikshit and Purvi Agarwal

Nov 3 2025 - Wall Street futures gained on Monday, kicking off November on firmer ground driven by optimism around AI demand and a U.S.-China trade truce, while Kenvue shares soared after Kimberly-Clark's buyout deal.

Kenvue KVUE.N jumped 21% in premarket trading after Kimberly-Clark KMB.N said it will acquire the Tylenol maker in a deal valued at about $48.7 billion. Kimberly-Clark slid 14.4%.

The benchmark S&P 500 .SPX posted its sixth consecutive monthly gain in October, its longest such streak in four years, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq .IXIC logged its longest in over seven years, after the so-called "Magnificent Seven" companies that have reported their earnings so far pointed to a surge in AI spending.

Investors await more clues as semiconductor firms including Advanced Micro Devices AMD.O and Qualcomm QCOM.O report results this week.

"While there are concerns over how big tech companies are financing their expanding AI spending, these firms have strong cash positions and healthy balance sheets," said analysts at UBS Global Wealth Management.

"Higher capex should drive further AI momentum, and we are encouraged by rising AI adoption and robust cloud growth."

U.S. President Donald Trump said AI giant Nvidia's most advanced chips will be reserved for U.S. companies and kept out of China and other countries. Nvidia NVDA.O shares gained 2%.

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to a one-year delay in reciprocal tariffs last week, but it did little to address a deeper divide between the world's two economic superpowers.

At 07:19 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis YMcv1 were up 13 points, or 0.03%, U.S. S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were up 24.5 points, or 0.36% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were up 171.25 points, or 0.66%.

PRIVATE ECONOMIC DATA AWAITED

The spotlight will be on private sector economic data this week to gauge the health of the economy, with the second-longest U.S. government shutdown contributing to data fog and monetary policy uncertainty.

Wednesday's ADP's private payrolls data will be closely watched, particularly after Fed Chair Jerome Powell tempered optimism for a December rate cut and a clutch of Fed officials aired discomfort with the central bank's decision to cut interest rates last week.

The Institute for Supply Management's gauge of U.S. manufacturing for October is also due at 10 a.m. ET on Monday.

Traders are now pricing in a 69.3% chance of a 25-basis-point rate cut in December, lower than the 90% priced in a week earlier, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear a case around the legality of Trump's tariffs on Wednesday.

Before the bell, Berkshire Hathaway's BRKb.N Class B shares rose about 1% after Warren Buffett's conglomerate reported a higher profit for the third quarter.

Data storage companies gained after a report said Samsung 005930.KS delayed its DDR5 contract pricing to mid-November.

Seagate Technology STX.O and Western Digital WDC.O were up 1.8% each. Sandisk SNDK.O rose 5.6%.

IREN IREN.O shares jumped 22% after the data center operator signed a near $9.7 billion contract with Microsoft MSFT.O to provide it with access to Nvidia's GB300 processors over a five-year period.