Wall Street enters the week with investors focused on the start of the second quarter earnings season, the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting minutes and a handful of economic releases that could offer fresh insight into the outlook for interest rates, economic growth and the artificial intelligence-driven rally that has powered US equities.
» Read more about: Wall Street braces for Fed signals as earnings season gets underway »
By STAN CHOE, AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — A rebound for AI stocks is sending indexes higher on Wall Street Monday.
The S&P 500 rose 0.7% and is back within 1% of its all-time high, even though the majority of stocks within the index fell.
» Read more about: Rebounds for AI stocks help support Wall Street and keep the market mixed »
The prices of oil and natural gas have been in the news lately, thanks to the geopolitical conflict in the Middle East. When the conflict started, energy prices rose. Now that the conflict seems to be nearing an end, energy prices have fallen back to pre-conflict levels.
The really big lesson here isn’t that oil and natural gas prices are volatile,
» Read more about: 2 Energy Stocks to Load Up on in the Second Half of 2026 »
© monsitj / iStock via Getty Images
The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (BATS:IGV) is down 10.5% year to date while the S&P 500 is up 10.8% and the Technology Select Sector SPDR is up 26%. That gap reflects the market pricing software as if the AI thesis has turned against it.
» Read more about: AI Crushed Software Stocks. IGV Is Betting the ‘SaaSpocalypse’ Is Overblown »
Investors in Prestige Consumer Healthcare Inc. PBH need to pay close attention to the stock based on moves in the options market lately. That is because the Oct. 16, 2026 $45 Call …
» Read more about: Is the Options Market Predicting a Spike in Prestige Consumer Healthcare Stock? »
Military action closed Hormuz and cut 10.5 million barrels per day, briefly driving OIH and XLE past 50% year-to-date before a June pullback.
OIH’s 64% one-year return masks a negative 3% average annual return since 2001 inception, making it a tactical trade,
» Read more about: 3 Energy ETFs Surging Past 50% as Hormuz Crisis Reshapes Oil Markets in 2026 »
As Social Security’s financial outlook grows increasingly concerning, a bipartisan group of lawmakers is reviving a proposal to require higher-income Americans to pay Social Security taxes on more of their earnings.
To many, it presents as one of the least painful ways to shore up the retirement program, but it also could amount to one of the largest tax increases in decades.
» Read more about: Social Security Proposal Would Raise Taxes for Millions to Save Program »
Investing ideas: The “AI food chain” (data centers, cybersecurity, robots), housing, financial services, and quantum computing.
Stephanie Link — chief investment strategist at Hightower Advisors, which oversees $324 billion — says to turn $10,000 into a mini-portfolio designed to invest in AI transformation while avoiding crowded mega-cap names.
» Read more about: Where to invest $10,000 right now, according to 9 top Wall Street minds »
About half-a-million SpaceX options traded by midday Monday, a little below the average since inception.
» Read more about: Here’s how SpaceX’s Nasdaq-100 inclusion might affect options pricing »
4.25K Followers
Rick is a Wall Street Journal best-selling author and financial writer specializing in stocks and options trading. He’s recognized as a top 1% financial expert and blogger on TipRanks,
» Read more about: Nvidia Just Entered A $200 Billion Market – History Says What Happens Next »
