Wall Street Ends Higher As AI Stocks Rally, Steelmakers Gain on Tariff News
Wall Street’s main indexes closed higher on Monday, buoyed by strong gains in Nvidia and other AI-related stocks, while steelmakers surged after US President Donald Trump announced plans to impose 25% tariffs on all imported steel and aluminum.
The S&P 500 rose 0.67% to 6,066.44, the Nasdaq climbed 0.98% to 19,714.27, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.38% to 44,470.41.
Steelmakers led the gains, with Cleveland-Cliffs jumping 18%, Century Aluminum rallying 10%, and Nucor, US Steel, and Steel Dynamics each advancing over 4%. Alcoa also rose nearly 2%.
AI-related stocks were among the top performers, with Nvidia and Broadcom rising 2.9% and 4.5%, respectively. Amazon also gained 1.7%.
McDonald’s climbed 4.8% after reporting a surprise rise in global comparable sales for the fourth quarter. Rockwell Automation surged 12.6% on stronger-than-expected earnings.
Meanwhile, Tesla fell 3% following reports that CEO Elon Musk and a group of investors are offering US$97.4 billion to acquire the nonprofit that controls AI startup OpenAI.
Investors are now eyeing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s upcoming testimony before Congress, which could provide further insights into the central bank’s monetary policy stance.
Market breadth was positive, with advancing stocks outnumbering decliners by a 1.9-to-1 ratio. Trading volume was heavy, with 16.1 billion shares changing hands, above the 14.9 billion average over the past 20 sessions.
The US dollar remained strong, contributing to cautious sentiment across global markets.
Reuters
