Nasdaq Rises 1.1% in Relief Rally Ahead of Big Tech Earnings

The Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.1% to 26,430.89 on Monday, leading a relief rally across Wall Street after last week's technology-driven sell-off. The S&P 500 added 0.4% to finish at 7,690.73, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1% to 51,966.03.

Investors turned to consumer discretionary stocks, which advanced 2.7%, and technology names, which gained 1.2%, as most other sectors finished in the red, with utilities leading the declines. Amazon.com (AMZN) was the top performer on the Dow, rising 5%. IBM and Nvidia (NVDA) also posted strong gains, with Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) among the index's other major risers.

Nvidia disclosed that it executed a record-breaking quantum computing simulation on Jupiter, Europe's first exascale supercomputer. The simulation enabled researchers to explore and validate magic state cultivation.

Deutsche Bank stated Monday that Alphabet likely experienced relatively healthy Google search revenue growth in the third quarter. The bank attributed this to higher pricing amid solid search volume.

On the S&P 500, SanDisk (SNDK), Datadog (DDOG), and Marvell Technology (MRVL) were among the largest gainers. Ameriprise Financial (AMP) fell 4.1%, ranking among the index's worst performers after BofA Securities downgraded the stock to underperform from buy.

Earnings season accelerates this week, with Netflix (NFLX) expected to report quarterly results on Tuesday. Meta Platforms (META) and Tesla (TSLA) are scheduled to release their earnings on Wednesday after market close. Other companies reporting this week include GE Aerospace (GE), Philip Morris International (PM), Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO), Procter & Gamble (PG), and American Express (AXP).

Oppenheimer Asset Management upgraded its full-year earnings outlook for the S&P 500, citing a solid start to the third-quarter reporting season. The firm maintains its expectation that the index will close 2026 at 8,100.

"Our expectations are that another better-than expected quarter is in the offing," John Stoltzfus, Chief Investment Strategist at Oppenheimer Asset Management, wrote in a Monday report. He noted that recent economic and corporate fundamentals, along with increased adoption of artificial intelligence by businesses and consumers, suggest stocks may have further upside before year-end.

In other markets, Treasury yields rose, with the 10-year rate up 4.2 basis points to 5.14% and the two-year rate up 3.4 basis points to 4.77%. West Texas Intermediate crude oil gained 2.1% to $103.56 a barrel during Monday late-afternoon trade, while Brent crude fell 0.5% to $109.37.

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday to waive key sanctions and tariffs on Russia, following his recent move to lift sanctions on Russian diesel exports. The Wall Street Journal reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed a meeting next month between Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and himself to discuss a potential deal to end the Ukraine war.

Precious metals retreated slightly, with spot gold down 0.6% to $4,140.61 per troy ounce and silver down 0.1% to $57.25 per ounce.