Early gains fade as QQQ keeps a narrow lead amid AI deals and factory data

QQQ opened 0.95% higher and SPY gained 0.53% at the open, but the advance faded during the session. QQQ finished up 0.11% while SPY slipped 0.02%, leaving QQQ ahead by 0.14 percentage points. AI infrastructure demand remained prominent as IREN signed a $9.7 billion Microsoft agreement and AWS announced a $38 billion OpenAI computing partnership. The October ISM manufacturing PMI fell to 48.7, below the 49.5 estimate, while Fed Governor Lisa Cook said policy was not on a preset path. U.S. approval for Microsoft to export NVIDIA AI chips for use in the UAE added a separate cross-border technology policy development.