Wall Street finished higher on Monday, with all three major averages posting gains as investors rebuilt confidence in artificial intelligence stocks after a choppy previous week. News that Anthropic filed to list on Nasdaq under the ticker ANT helped lift tech shares, while a pullback in oil prices eased some inflation worries. Traders also positioned for a heavy week that includes a Federal Reserve meeting and earnings from Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon.
What Moved Markets
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 145.74 points, or 0.28%, to close at 52,360.90. The S&P 500 rose 53.09 points, or 0.70%, to finish at 7,676.77. The Nasdaq Composite, which is heavily weighted toward technology, led the way with a gain of 214.04 points, or 0.82%, to end at 26,169.38. The small-cap Russell 2000 also advanced, rising roughly 0.4%.
The rebound followed a losing week for stocks, during which worries about the size of AI spending, higher oil prices and tension in the Middle East weighed on sentiment. Crude oil slipped on Monday, with U.S. benchmark futures trading near $101 a barrel, which gave stocks some breathing room. Treasury yields were mixed, with the 10-year yield hovering just under 5%.
Breadth was fairly even, meaning roughly as many stocks fell as rose, so the gains were concentrated in larger technology names rather than spread across the whole market.
Notable Movers
Range Resources (RRC) jumped nearly 16% after EQT agreed to acquire the natural gas producer in an all-stock deal valued at more than $50 billion including debt.
Tesla (TSLA) rose about 6% after Barclays upgraded the stock to Overweight with a $450 price target, pointing to the possibility of a combination with SpaceX.
Comfort Systems USA (FIX) gained about 6.8%, recovering some of the ground it lost last week after a CFO retirement announcement and the absence of specific 2027 guidance.
On the downside, Fair Isaac (FICO) dropped about 8.6% as analysts downgraded the stock or cut price targets, citing concerns about its new pricing strategy and a flat outlook. Moderna (MRNA) fell about 7.2% after investors sold following Phase 3 results for its personalized cancer vaccine developed with Merck.
Shares of so-called neocloud companies such as CoreWeave and Nebius also slid after Elon Musk said many firms in that group could fail. In other corporate news, Meta announced plans to raise $95 billion in stock, and Verizon lifted its full-year subscriber and earnings forecasts even though quarterly revenue of $34.3 billion came in below estimates.
Looking Ahead
This is a busy week. The Federal Reserve meets Tuesday and Wednesday, and markets assign only about a 10% chance of an interest rate hike at this meeting. Investors will be listening closely for any hint about a possible hike in December. Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon report earnings, and the focus will be on how much each company plans to spend on AI infrastructure and whether growth justifies it. Reddit reports on Thursday. Beyond earnings, keep an eye on oil prices and developments with Iran, as well as next week’s U.S. midterm elections, which some analysts see as a turning point for diplomacy. As always, daily moves are only a snapshot, and no single session should drive long-term decisions.