Stocks on Wall Street experienced a notable rally on Monday, largely influenced by President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the presidential race and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor. The Nasdaq soared by 1.5%, closing with a gain of 277 points, while both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 recorded increases of 0.3% and 1.1%, respectively.
In the political betting arena, the crypto-based platform Polymarket has begun endorsing Harris as the likely Democratic nominee, and PredictIt is forecasting her potential presidency as the 47th President of the United States.
On the corporate front, Nvidia’s shares rose by 4% after it was reported that the company is advancing plans to develop a version of its Blackwell AI chips tailored for the Chinese market. Nvidia will be collaborating with local partner Inspur to launch the “B20” chip, which is anticipated to begin shipping in the second quarter of 2025.
Tesla’s stock also saw a significant jump of nearly 5% as anticipation builds around its upcoming earnings report. CEO Elon Musk took to social media platform X to indicate that the company is making strides toward producing humanoid robots for internal use as early as next year, with broader production plans slated for 2026.
Meanwhile, cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike was still managing the repercussions of a massive global tech outage it experienced last week. However, the company reported that many of the approximately 8.5 million affected Windows devices were returning to normal operation, despite a 13% drop in its stock to around $263.
Verizon, on the other hand, faced challenges as its quarterly earnings report showed a decrease of nearly 6% in its stock value following a revenue miss attributed to customers holding onto their devices longer, which in turn affected upgrade rates. Verizon reported revenues of $32.8 billion, below analysts’ expectations of $33.06 billion, although its earnings per share of $1.15 met forecasts.
Overall, the market activity showcases a blend of volatility and opportunity, with companies like Nvidia and Tesla leading the way in innovation, while others like Verizon and CrowdStrike navigate challenges. This landscape reminds investors that despite setbacks, there are always promising developments on the horizon that could drive future growth.
In summary, the market is reacting positively to political changes, while also grappling with corporate performance challenges, reflecting a dynamic economic atmosphere.