U.S. stocks opened the week on an upbeat note Monday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq climbing higher as investors digested a mixed bag of corporate news and shifting commodity prices. The gains were broad-based, but technology stocks — particularly semiconductor makers — drew much of the attention as Wall Street looked ahead to a busy week of earnings and product announcements.
Chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices was among the standout performers, rising nearly 4% after Microsoft said it would offer AMD’s Helios-based system on its Azure cloud platform. Analysts at Wolfe Research called the move a strong endorsement of AMD’s competitiveness in the GPU space, noting that Microsoft’s return to the chipmaker’s graphics processors bodes well just days before AMD’s Advancing AI showcase later this week. Microsoft shares ticked less than 1% higher on the news.
Crypto-related stocks also rallied in midday trading as bitcoin climbed past $65,500, reaching its highest level in more than a month. Galaxy Digital surged 10%, while stablecoin issuer Circle jumped 9%. Bitcoin-focused Strategy added 5%, and ether-linked names like Bitmine and Sharplink posted solid gains as well, tracking the second-largest cryptocurrency’s 2% advance to roughly $1,897.
Energy markets were more unsettled, with U.S. oil prices wobbling after Houthi militants in Yemen announced a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia, effective immediately, raising fresh concerns about potential supply disruptions in the region. European markets had already closed lower, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 slipping 0.3%, though oil and gas stocks on the continent outperformed with a 1% gain. Travel and leisure shares led declines across Europe, falling nearly 1%.
Elsewhere, movie theater chains got a boost from a robust opening weekend for Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” which pulled in $264 million globally. AMC Entertainment soared 20% after reporting that U.S. attendance is up 12% year over year, while Cinemark added 4%. Imax gave back some early gains but still traded about 1% higher following $52 million in global box office receipts from screens showing the film, which was shot entirely in Imax’s 70mm format.
