Wall Street Storms to Best Day Since August as AMD Tops $1 Trillion and Bitcoin Tops $86K
A Meta AI breakthrough sparked a chipmaker rally, oil sank on hopes for Iran diplomacy, and the S&P 500 logged its strongest session in more than a month.
Wall Street roared through its best trading day since early August on Monday, as a rally in technology and chip stocks — fueled by early enthusiasm over Meta's new AI agent — sent the S&P 500 up 1.5% and the Nasdaq 100 surging 2.8%.
The session's biggest mover was Meta Platforms, which jumped 11% after early signals pointed to strong traction for its new AI agent product, reigniting investor enthusiasm across the broader AI trade. Chipmakers rode the wave higher, with Advanced Micro Devices climbing past a $1 trillion market capitalization for the first time.
Oil slides, Bitcoin surges
Crude prices added to the bullish mood, with Brent crude settling around $100 a barrel as traders weighed hopes for diplomatic progress that could de-escalate the standoff over Iran. Falling oil prices helped ease inflation worries, and Treasury yields responded in kind — the 10-year yield dropped below 5% for the first time in weeks.
META JUMPED 11%. AMD TOPPED $1 TRILLION. BITCOIN TOPPED $86,000.
Crypto markets joined the rally too, with Bitcoin pushing past $86,000, according to the Washington Post's market wrap, as risk appetite broadly returned across asset classes.
Not every stock joined the party
The rally wasn't universal. Novo Nordisk tumbled more than 8% after the Danish drugmaker's newly unveiled long-term strategy failed to convince investors it can keep pace in an increasingly crowded weight-loss drug market. HP fell more than 3% after warning that global PC shipment volumes are expected to shrink by mid-single digits in 2027 compared with this year, and UPS slid nearly 3% amid lingering investor concern over its dividend payout relative to free cash flow.
Still, the broad advance marked one of the strongest single-day showings for U.S. equities in weeks, with traders pointing to a rare alignment of falling oil prices, falling yields and renewed AI enthusiasm as the driver. Whether the momentum holds into the back half of the week is likely to depend heavily on how the Iran diplomatic track develops and whether Meta's AI agent traction proves durable beyond an initial burst of investor excitement.