Wall Street Rallies, Chipmakers Soar Ahead Of Nvidia's Huang Speech, Bitcoin Reclaims $100,000: What's Driving Markets Monday?

Wall Street is in full risk-on mode, as traders eagerly snap up technology stocks, particularly semiconductors, ahead of Nvidia Corp. NVDA CEO Jensen Huang‘s speech later on Monday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Tech-linked indices and sector outperformed by midday trading in New York. The Nasdaq 100 notched a 1.3% increase while the iShares Semiconductor ETF SOXX soared by over 4%, eyeing the strongest session since mid-September.

Micron Technology Inc. MU shares led gains, flagging a 12% surge, on the back of expectations for strong AI demand. Nvidia rose 4.8%.

Among Monday’s notable headlines, The Washington Post reported Donald Trump’s economic team is exploring a more targeted version of its universal tariff plan, aiming to apply tariffs to specific sectors rather than implementing a broad measure on all imports. The dollar softened by 0.5% in reaction to the news.

The Federal Reserve announced the vice chair for supervision Michael Barr, a strong advocate for tighter banking regulations, will step down from his role in February but will retain his seat on the Board of Governors.

“The risk of a dispute over the position could be a distraction from our mission,” Barr stated, alluding to potential clashes with the incoming administration’s inclination toward looser banking regulations. Regional bank stocks reacted positively, with the S&P SPDR Regional Banking ETF KRE rising 1.6% on Monday.

In commodities markets, natural gas prices rocketed by another 7% on the heels of an extension of cold temperatures, while oil prices slipped 0.7%, potentially snapping a 5-day winning streak.

Sentiment turned bullish again in cryptocurrency markets, as Bitcoin BTC/USD ferociously reclaimed the $100,000 mark, sending crypto-linked stocks such as Coinbase Global Inc. COIN, CleanSpark Inc. CLSK and Microstrategy Inc. MSTR all higher by about 6%.

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY rose 0.9% to $597.33.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA rose 0.4% to $429.05.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series QQQ rose 1.3% to $525.31.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF IWM soared 0.9% to $226.44.
• The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund XLK outperformed, up 1.7%; the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund XLU lagged, down 0.7%.

• Shares of Paycor HCM Inc. PYCR surged 23% after reports surfaced that the company is nearing a potential acquisition by Paychex Inc. PAYX.
• Palantir Technologies Inc. PLTR tumbled over 4% following a cautious note from Morgan Stanley.
• Fubotv Inc. FUBO skyrocketed by 220% after Walt Disney Co. DIS announced to combine its Hulu + Live TV business with Fubo.

Read Next:

Photo: Shutterstock