Stock market today: S&P 500, Nasdaq rise, continuing rebound after Wall Street’s volatile week

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) hovered near $70,000 on Monday after last week’s sharp sell-off and subsequent rebound.

The cryptocurrency is down roughly 44% from its all-time high north of $126,000 set last October, when forced liquidations and whale sales triggered a crypto winter.

Selling intensified last week, with the token posting its worst daily drop since November 2022.

“The current Bitcoin price action is a mere crisis of confidence. Nothing broke, no skeletons will show up,” Bernstein analyst Gautam Chhugani said in a note on Monday morning.

“In an AI world, Bitcoin and crypto are not interesting enough,” Chhugani said, adding that the “Bitcoin bear case is the weakest in its history.”

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Software stocks mostly rebounded on Monday as Wall Street analysts pushed back against growing investor fears that artificial intelligence could disrupt the sector’s business models.

Oracle (ORCL) shares jumped 10% after DA Davidson’s Gil Luria upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral, citing optimism about the company’s OpenAI deal and pushing back against fears that AI would hurt its software business.

“Software isn’t dead,” Luria said in a note. “We believe companies will continue to pay for Oracle’s products and that they will not be vibe coded away,”

Oracle shares are down roughly 20% year to date as the broader industry has taken a hit.

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Crude oil prices rose on Monday as the US and Iran agreed to extend talks but tensions between the two countries remained high.

West Texas Intermediate futures climbed 1.7% to $64 a barrel, while Brent (BZ=F) advanced to $69 per barrel.

Prices started the day lower but edged higher after the US Maritime Administration advised American vessels navigating the Strait of Hormuz to avoid Iranian waters. The warning raised concerns about disruptions to the Strait, which facilitates the transport of around 20 million barrels of crude oil per day from the Persian Gulf.

Meanwhile, US and Iranian officials sounded positive about talks held on Friday in Oman meant to deescalate tensions, with President Trump saying that initial negotiations were “very good.”

Once Upon a Farm (OFRM), the Jennifer Garner-backed kids’ food brand, rallied 16% in its second day of trading on Monday.

The company went public via an IPO on Friday at $21 per share, 16% higher than its listing price. As of Monday afternoon, shares were trading at nearly $25 per share.

Yahoo Finance’s Brooke DiPalma reports:

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Oracle (ORCL) stock rose as much as 9% on Monday after Gil Luria at DA Davidson upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral, keeping a $180 price target on the stock and arguing that the overhang from OpenAI is set to lift.

“We believe that a revamped OpenAI will return to its position as Google’s top challenger and with a fresh stack of capital be able to live up to its obligations this year, including to Oracle,” the firm wrote in a published Monday. “We believe this will remove the biggest concern from ORCL.”

In September, Oracle stock surged after the company revealed a massive increase in its contract backlog. Most of this increase was later revealed to be tied to OpenAI. Through the fall, investors soured on the stock amid both a perception that OpenAI had fallen behind in the AI race to Google — and to some extent Anthropic — and the scale of Oracle’s financial obligations related to meeting these future contracts came to light.

Oracle stock fell about 50% from its peak in September as fears rippled through the market. Even with Monday’s move, shares are still down about 10% this year.

Now, however, Luria and his team think the hate has gone too far, both towards Oracle and OpenAI.

“We are now more positive on OpenAI, based on changes in strategy, new frontier models, the pressure on Google’s competitors from its recent ascent, and progress on its fundraising efforts,” the firm wrote.

“Most importantly, we believe OpenAI already has as much as $40B of cash on hand and may be raising as much as another $100B by the end of the quarter, which should help pay for the data centers Oracle is building for OpenAI.”

Luria and team also noted a more recent decline in Oracle stock has been attributed to the overall souring on software stocks from investors, but believes this fear has gone too far as well.

“We believe companies will continue to pay for Oracle’s products and that they will not be vibe coded away,” DA Davidson wrote in its note.

The firm also noted that Oracle could see as much as $9 billion worth of upside related to its recent deal to take over hosting for TikTok USA, a deal that finally came through last month years of legal battles.

Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) stock dropped 19% on Monday morning after the steel producer’s fourth quarter revenue missed estimates. The company said it expects improvements in 2026 after a disappointing end to 2025.

“Our performance in 2025 was negatively affected by persistently weak production levels from the automotive sector throughout the entire year, an expiring five-year slab contract becoming value-destructive during its last year, and a newly adverse dynamic in the Canadian market,” Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves said in a statement. “Fortunately, as we started 2026, these negative situations have all improved.”

The steel producer recorded a net loss per share of $0.44, which was narrower than the $0.60 loss Wall Street was expecting, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. For the full year, the company reported an adjusted net loss of $2.48 per share, compared to a net loss of $0.73 a year ago.

Revenue of $4.3 billion also fell short of estimates of $4.5 billion.

In the fourth quarter, Cleveland-Cliffs had 3.77 million net tons in steel shipments, compared to 3.8 million tons in the same period a year earlier. For 2026, Cleveland-Cliffs expects to ship 16.5 million to 17 million tons of steel.

Shares of Kroger (KR) jumped more than 8% in early trading on Monday after the grocery chain said it tapped former Walmart (WMT) exec Greg Foran to lead the company.

Foran begins work as CEO immediately, taking over for interim CEO Ron Sargent, who has led the company since last March. Foran previously led Walmart US for six years, overseeing a turnaround in that division and accelerating Walmart’s digital capabilities.

The CEO change comes as Kroger seeks to grab market share after its acquisition of Albertsons was blocked by regulators in 2024. It also comes amid chief executive turnover at other major retail chains, including Target and Walmart.

US stocks opened lower on Monday, with all three major indexes falling in the opening minutes of trade and the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) pacing declines, dropping about 0.5%.

The most notable single-stock move in markets, however, is a reminder of where investors fears still lie — software stocks.

Shares of monday.com (MNDY) fell as much as 23% in early trade on Monday after the company’s sales and profit forecasts fell short of estimates, the latest software-exposed name to be judged harshly by investors as questions over how AI-related disruptions will impact future profits remain abundant.

Overall, investors will remain in wait-and-see mode with some of the week’s biggest earnings and economic data reports set for release later, notably Wednesday morning’s January jobs report.

STMicroelectronics (STM) said Monday that it expanded its partnership with Amazon (AMZN) through a multiyear, multibillion-dollar contract, sending shares of the chip manufacturer and designer up about 8% in premarket trading.

Under the agreement, ST will supply Amazon Web Services with chips and other technologies for its data centers. The move demonstrates ST’s push into the artificial intelligence market, lessening its reliance on other chip end uses, such as electric vehicles.

“This strategic engagement establishes ST as an important supplier to AWS and validates the strength of our innovation, proprietary technology portfolio, and proven manufacturing-at-scale capabilities,” ST CEO Jean-Marc Chery said. “Our advanced semiconductor solutions will directly power AWS’s next-generation infrastructure, enabling their customers to push the boundaries of AI, high-performance computing, and digital connectivity.”

The deal comes after Amazon, like the other hyperscalers, said it plans to spend billions more on the artificial intelligence infrastructure build-out. Last Thursday, Amazon forecast it would spend $200 billion on capital expenditures, a massive increase from its $125 billion spending plans in 2025.

Amazon stock was down fractionally in premarket trading.

Monday.com (MNDY) stock got crushed in premarket trading after the software company’s first quarter financial guidance fell short of expectations. It’s the latest tough break for the shares, down 15% ahead of the opening bell, as the company has gotten swept up in the sell-off that punished software names.

In the fourth quarter, Monday.com reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.04, beating estimates of $0.92. Revenue grew 25% year over year to $333.9 million, also beating expectations of $329.6 million, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence consensus estimates.

However, the company’s first quarter revenue guidance of $338 million to $340 million came in below expectations of $342 million. Operating income is expected in a range of $37 million to $39 million, compared to the $45 million the Street was expecting.

The stock recently faced significant losses amid a sell-off in software stocks, as investors questioned whether the disruption from artificial intelligence could take a bigger bite out of these companies’ businesses than previously expected. Year to date, Monday.com stock is down 33%.

Kroger (KR) stock rose 5% before the bell following reports that ex-Walmart executive Greg Foran would be the supermarket’s next CEO.

Hims and Hers (HIMS) stock sank 18% during premarket hours on Monday following the withdrawal of its $49 copy of a weight-loss pill after legal threats from ​Novo Nordisk (NVO) and a potential investigation from the US Food and Drug Administration.

Strategy (MSTR) shares fell 4% before the bell as bitcoin again dipped below $70,000. Strategy is one of the largest corporate holders of bitcoin, and its stock is currently down 14% over the last month following bitcoin’s decline.

Novo Nordisk (NVO) stock rose 6% before the bell on Monday after Hims & Hers (HIMS) scrapped the launch of its $49 copy of a weight-loss pill following legal threats from the ​Danish group and a potential investigation from the US Food and Drug Administration.

Shares of Hims (HIMS) fell nearly 15% in premarket trading on Monday.

Novo’s stock faced pressure recently after rival Eli Lilly’s shares rallied last week following the release of its fourth quarter earnings, and it now expects 2026 revenue to grow, compared to Novo, which said it expected sales to fall this year.

Yahoo Finance’s Jake Conley reported:

Reuters reports:

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Bitcoin (BTC-USD) fell below $70,000 on Monday following a week of wild swings for the world’s largest cryptocurrency.

Bloomberg News reports:

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Gold (GC=F) rose above $5,000 an ounce on Monday as dip-buyers returned following a volatile week for precious metals.

Bloomberg news reports:

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QuantumScape stock rose 14% before the bell on Monday after launching its “Eagle Line” in San Jose, a high-tech pilot factory designed to mass-produce its battery parts.

Simply Wall Street reports:

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Bloomberg reports:

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