Wall Street Surges on AI Chip Rally; Oil Falls Below $100

Wall Street's major indexes closed sharply higher on Monday, led by a powerful rally in semiconductor and artificial intelligence stocks. The S&P 500 rose 1.49% to 7,764.70, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.71% to 52,048.83, and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.26% to a record 27,122.09.

Intel shares surged over 12% while Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) climbed roughly 10%, briefly pushing its market value above $1 trillion for the first time. AMD joins Nvidia, Broadcom, and Micron in the trillion-dollar chip club. Meta Platforms jumped 11.34% after its new Muse AI assistant topped mobile app charts, which investors viewed as a signal for higher processor demand.

“Money is moving back into the AI trade.”

Oil prices fell sharply, with West Texas Intermediate dropping around 4% and Brent declining 3-4%, briefly dipping below $100 a barrel. The decline followed reports of potential diplomatic progress regarding Iran, including former President Trump stating he would "probably" meet Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and signs of crude flowing through the Strait of Hormuz.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield slipped back below 5%, easing inflation concerns. Copper futures also rose about 1%, nearing the recent record high of $14,875 per tonne. ASX 200 futures were up 0.3% early Tuesday, signaling a positive open for the Australian market.