The Dow Couldn't Keep Up With Chip Stocks on Monday

Broadcom jumped 4.4% Monday after extending its Apple chip supply agreement through 2031, helping drive the Nasdaq Composite up 1.3% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average stayed flat. AMD surged 8% on news tied to autonomous driving adoption, pushing semiconductor stocks to lead the session's rally.

The S&P 500 gained 0.7% as chip momentum lifted broader tech. Microsoft bucked the trend, falling 1.4% after announcing 4,800 job cuts. The Dow's flat performance reflected weakness in industrial names Honeywell and Amgen, which declined even as technology names outperformed.

The divergence highlights rotation into semiconductors as investors bet on multi-year supply agreements and adoption cycles in autonomous vehicles. Broadcom's decade-long Apple deal provides revenue visibility, while AMD's autonomous driving exposure taps a growth vertical beyond traditional data center and PC markets.