Super Micro’s stock soars after surprise update — with Dell and HPE shares joining the rally

The S&P 500's Technology sector XLK gained nearly 11.6% during the third quarter, outperforming the benchmark S&P 500, which gained around 2% during the same period. According to the latest FactSet data, the information technology XLK sector is expected to report year-over-year earnings growth of 65%. At the industry level, all six industries in the sector are projected to report year-over-year earnings growth: Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment (130%), Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals (39%), Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components (39%), Communication Services (38%), Software (14%), and IT Services (5%). The report also highlighted that the semiconductors & semiconductor equipment industry is expected to be the largest contributor to earnings growth for the sector. If this industry were excluded, the estimated earnings growth rate for the information technology sector would fall to 24.4% from 65.0%. Data from Seeking Alpha's Quant Rating System shows that technology stocks have an average Quant health score of 3.48, based on 235 companies with market capitalizations above $2 billion.

Open this photo in gallery:Alberta Premier Danielle Smith previously sacked AIMCo’s board and CEO, and has also previously pushed for the province to leave the Canada Pension Plan. Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian PressIt’s too soon to breathe easy on Alberta secession. Sure, the referendum’s preliminary results show that some 75 per cent of Albertans voted to remain in Canada. But the proportion of people who signalled they favour a binding vote on separation – roughly 25 per cent – is significant. This is hardly a resounding endorsement of Canadian unity. Federalists who assume they won and dismiss the concerns of Alberta separatists are making a big, fat mistake. The fallout from this historic vote will be felt for years. Secessionist leaders have explicitly said they plan to use this meaningful denouncement of Canada as leverage to agitate for change. That brings us to the Alberta Investment Management Corp., or AIMCo, which is a sitting duck for renewed political interference in light of the referendum result. The Edmonton-based institutional investment manager is part of the “Maple 8″ group of public pension fund managers and Alberta’s Crown jewel.

SpaceX just gave Wall Street a big reason to believe in the AI boom as demand for its computing power is off the charts.

Special committees at both companies are assessing merger prospects but a combination is no sure thing, Musk says.

Bank of Montreal’s BMO-T U. S. head, Darrel Hackett, is leaving his role as the lender bets on reviving its operations in the country to bolster its profitability. Mr. Hackett, who has spent more than 22 years at BMO, will take on the role of executive vice-chair and senior adviser as of Nov. 1. BMO tapped its U. S. general counsel, Tim Cox, as its new U. S. country head and CEO of its U. S. subsidiaries, effective Nov. 1. He is also a member of the bank’s U. S. management committee and chairs its U. S. regulatory committee. In March, BMO told investors that its U. S. division’s return on equity – a closely watched measure of profitability – has underperformed expectations, and that the bank will continue to revive the business to bolster growth. “Darrel has played a central role in advancing our North American growth strategy and helping build the U. S. business we have today,” BMO chief executive officer Darryl White said in a statement. Prior to his role as U. S. general counsel, Mr. Cox held other roles at the bank, including chief regulatory officer, managing director and U. S. chief security officer.

Some analysts question whether people will actually take advantage of Walmart’s new bundle, and how easy it is to make sense of the benefits.