The Dow Jones Industrial Average and other indexes finished sharply higher following their sell-offs late last week. Nvidia and Microsoft were among the top advancers on the stock market today, and Palantir Technologies climbed. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump sent American Eagle Outfitters flying.
The Dow industrials ended 585 points higher, or 1.3%. It recovered from Friday's loss, which was spurred by the weak U.S. July jobs report. Nvidia was the Dow's best performer, rising 3.6%, and fellow Magnificent Seven stock Microsoft rose 2.2%. Amazon.com and Chevron were the only declining blue-chips, down 1.4% and 0.2%, respectively.
The Nasdaq composite finished up 2% and moved back above its 21-day exponential moving average. The S&P 500 bulked up by 1.4%, enough for it to recapture its 21-day line.
Tech Shines, IBD 50 Soars
Veterinary lab equipment play Idexx Laboratories topped advancers on the Nasdaq composite by jumping more than 27% on an earnings beat.
Strategy and Shopify were also strong, with respective gains of more than 6% and nearly 6%. But ON Semiconductor plunged 15.6% after it met earnings views but issued an underwhelming outlook. It undercut its 200-day and 50-day moving averages.
On the S&P 500, all but one of the benchmark index's sectors rallied on the stock market today. Communication services and technology paced advancers. Energy was the only group that lost ground.
Inside the benchmark index, gainers included Williams-Sonoma, which rose 6.9%, and Monolithic Power System, which moved up 5.7%. LyondellBasell Industries and Berkshire Hathaway were among noteworthy laggards, sliding 4.7% and 2.9%, respectively.
Volume was significantly lower on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq vs. Friday, according to preliminary data.
Small caps gave bears a bloody nose, with the Russell 2000 index closing up 2.1%. The index has now climbed back above its 50-day moving average as well as its 200-day line.
Growth stocks stood out, with the Innovator IBD 50 exchange traded fund rallying 3.9%. The fund currently is back in a buy zone above a 32.93 entry after last week finding support at the 21-day line.
The 10-year Treasury yield shed two basis points to 4.19%. Oil prices fell nearly 2%, with West Texas Intermediate futures selling just above $66 per barrel. Oil prices dropped after OPEC+ on Sunday agreed to increase output starting in September.
American Eagle Soars As Trump Speaks On Sydney Sweeney Ad
One stock that dramatically outperformed on the stock market today was American Eagle Outfitters.
The clothing play, which has taken on something of a meme flavor of late, surged more than 20%.
It was boosted once again by the ongoing controversy about its current advertising campaign starring actress Sydney Sweeney.
The campaign was back in the news after Trump took to Truth Social to share his opinion. He called it is the "'HOTTEST ad out there," and claimed the company's jeans are "flying off the shelves."
Despite Trump's endorsement, American Eagle has hit the headlines due to backlash over the campaign, which uses the tagline "Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans." Some critics have claimed it is racially insensitive and sexist.
The stock has broken out of a long downtrend, rallying around 33% over the past four weeks. Despite this, it remains firmly in the red so far in 2025, falling almost 21%.
American Eagle holds a dire IBD Composite Rating of 9 out of 99 and a sub-par Earnings Per Share Rating of 22.
3:21 p.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Palantir Powers Higher
Palantir was one of the most-watched equities on the stock market today as it rallied into earnings.
The data analytics stock climbed around 4% and was gaining strength the longer the session wore on.
Palantir is extended past its 20% profit goal from a cup-with-handle entry of 125.25, according to MarketSurge analysis.
It is one of the top performers of the year once again, rising around 112% already in 2025.
But its performance is supported by strong all-around performance. It holds an IBD Composite Rating of 99.
In addition, its Earnings Per Share Rating is a nearly top level 98. Earnings are expected to soar by 42% this year before slowing to still-impressive growth of 26% next year.
Wall Street is expecting the AI play to turn in EPS growth of 54% to 14 cents as revenue climbs 39% to $938 million.
Underlining its quality, Palantir is currently a member of the prestigious IBD Leaderboard list of top stocks.
The company has evolved into one of the most important contractors to the U.S. Department of Defense.
The company recently consolidated 75 existing contracts with the U.S. Army into a single Enterprise Agreement worth up to $10 billion over the next 10 years.
2:29 p.m. ET
Gold Stock Clears Entry As Citi Sees This Price
The price of gold has soared in 2025, which has seen precious metal plays rocket as well.
And now Citi analysts have hiked their zero-to-three month price forecast to $3,500 from $3,300 per ounce, MarketWatch reported.
In addition, they raised their expected range for the period to between $3,300 and $3,600 from $3,100 to $3,500 per ounce.
This helped boost the precious metal by nearly 1% to more than $3,400 per ounce.
It also helped Gold Fieldsbreak out of a consolidation with an ideal buy point of 26.36, MarketSurge analysis shows. A breakaway gap offers a higher buy point of 26.73.
Shares were also boosted after the gold miner gave its performance update for the six months ended June 30. Final results will be announced on Aug. 22. Gold Fields holds a best-possible Composite Rating of 99.
Earnings are seen surging 115% this year before slowing to 20% growth in 2026. Gold Fields operates mining projects on four continents.
Fellow gold stock Agnico Eagle Mines has retaken a cup-with-handle buy point of 126.65 and is in the buy zone. This could also be interpreted as a flat base.
On July 21, shares crossed a trendline within the long handle, generating an aggressive buy point near 122.
The stock has been finding support at its 50-day moving average. It is now clear of its 21-day exponential moving average as well.
Agnico Eagle Mines stock is also a very strong all-around performer, which is reflected in its IBD Composite Rating of 99. It popped following an earnings beat last week.
Analysts see further profit growth ahead. EPS is expected to surge 65% this year before slowing to 6% growth in 2026, MarketSurge data shows. Analysts have been revising their estimates upward, a good sign.
Agnico has mines in Canada, Mexico, Finland and Australia. It has grown from a company that operated only one mine as recently as 2008.
Leaderboard stock Wheaton Precious Metals has moved back into the buy zone above a 95.23 entry. However, earnings are due Thursday.
1:14 p.m. ET
Factory Orders Fall
One key goal of the Trump administration's economic agenda is to bring more manufacturing back to the U.S.
However, orders from U.S. factories fell in June, the Commerce Department said Monday. This was the second monthly decline out of the past three.
New orders fell 4.8% month over month in June to $611.7 billion. This was actually better than the expected 5% decline, according to Econoday.
When defense orders were excluded there was a 4.7% decline. However, if transportation orders were excluded then there was actually an increase of 0.4%.
Stock Market Today: Defense Play Clears Entry
The stock market remains in an uptrend, which means investors should be keeping an eye out for breakouts.
Elbit Systems has powered above a flat base buy point of 476.04, according to MarketSurge analysis.
This is an early-stage pattern, a bonus. In addition, the relative strength line is reaching new highs.
The defense stock boats a Composite Rating of 98 out of 99, which is very strong. Both fundamental and stock market performance are excellent.
Elbit ranks among the top 4% of stocks in terms of price gains over the past 12 months. So far in 2025 alone it has rallied more than 87%.
It also holds an Earnings Per Share Rating of 90 out of 99. Earnings are seen growing 18% this year before accelerating to 30% growth in 2026.
But its latest quarterly report is due on Aug. 13, which adds risk. An approach highlighted by Investor's Business Daily is to use options as a strategy to reduce risk around earnings. It's a way to capitalize on the upside potential of a stock's move around earnings, while reducing the downside risk.
The Israeli defense technology firm makes systems and products for aircraft, land, and naval applications. Its products include the Hermes series of unmanned aerial vehicles.
12:05 p.m. ET
Warren Buffett Stock Clears Entry
A number of equities were testing entries on the stock market today, including Heico, which was up nearly 3%. The aerospace parts maker is clearing a weekly chart flat base entry with an ideal buy point of 328.63, MarketSurge analysis shows.
The relative strength line is hitting fresh heights, a bullish sign. It is also clear of its short-term and major moving averages.
Overall performance is top-notch, with its IBD Composite Rating coming in at a best-possible 99. The stock is among the top 10% of issues in terms of price performance over the past 12 months.
Strong fundamentals are a key driver, with its Earnings Per Share Rating sitting at 96 out of 99.
It is an institutional favorite, with 61% of shares currently being held by funds. Warren Buffett-led Berkshire Hathaway is a backer, and owns just shy of 1.2 million shares.
Stock Market Today: Berkshire Hathaway Falls
However, Berkshire Hathaway itself was one of the lagging stocks on the stock market today following its latest earnings report.
After-tax operating profit fell 4% in the second quarter vs. a year earlier to $11.2 billion. This was due to $877 million in foreign exchange losses due to Berkshire's U.S.-dollar debt. Without that, the conglomerate's operating profit would have risen 8%.
Earnings for Berkshire's B-class stock fell 4% to $5.17 a share, better than analysts expected, while revenue dipped 1% to $92.5 billion.
But Berkshire Hathaway wrote down its equity investment in Kraft Heinz by $3.8 billion, to $8.4 billion, more in line with the market value of its 27% stake. Kraft is mulling strategic options for its food businesses.
CFRA Research analyst Cathy Seifert said in a note to clients that "the lack of organic revenue growth, combined with margin compression and absence of buybacks, removes near-term catalysts from the shares." She is rating the stock as a hold with a 535 target.
Berkshire Hathaway stock fell nearly 3% in high volume. It undercut recent lows and is losing ground on its converged 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The 50-day line looks set to fall below the 200-day moving average, a bearish technical indicator known as a "death cross."
10:44 a.m. ET
Energizer Stock Charges Higher, Eyes 200-Day Line
Battery maker Energizer was one of the strongest movers on the stock market today.
It soared 22% after the firm beat on the top and bottom lines. Energizer blasted away from its 50-day moving average and now sits around 4% below its 200-day line. It closed more than 24% below the latter benchmark on Friday.
Earnings fell 1% to 78 cents a share while revenue rose 3% to $725 million. This was better than expected on both counts.
Importantly, the company also hiked its full-year forecast. It now expects adjusted earnings of $3.55 to $3.65 per share, up from its prior prediction of $3.30 to $3.50.
This was also above analyst estimates for full-year profits of $3.37 per share, according to MarketSurge data.
9:41 a.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Palantir, Figma, Shopify, Spotify
Just after the stock market open, Palantir Technologies, Figma, Shopify and Spotify were among the big movers.
Palantir stock rallied nearly 3% ahead of the company's earnings report after the close. Figma plummeted nearly 16% following last week's debut.
On the upside, Shopify climbed 4%, while Spotify jumped more than 7%.
8:42 a.m. ET
Dow Jones Movers: Caterpillar, Disney, Microsoft, Nvidia
Inside the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Caterpillar, Disney, Microsoft and Nvidia were among the biggest winners in early morning action.
Caterpillar shares climbed 1%, still in buy range above a 418.50 buy point, while Disney moved up 1.2%, on pace to snap a six-day losing streak.
Microsoft gained 0.7%, trading just off last week's all-time high. And Nvidia stock rallied 1%, looking to bounce back after two days of losses.
8:10 a.m. ET
Tesla Stock Rallies On Musk Pay Package
The electric-vehicle giant moved up after it approved a new pay package for Chief Executive Elon Musk, awarding him 96 million shares. As of Friday's close, those shares were worth about $29 billion. The shares only vest if Musk stays CEO through 2027 and have a five-year holding period.
The pay package comes in place of the 2018 incentive deal for Musk that was blocked by a Delaware court. It will act as interim compensation should that 2018 deal be reinstated, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said in a note to clients.
"We believe this grant will now keep Musk as CEO of Tesla at least until 2030 and removes an overhang on the stock," Ives said. "Musk remains Tesla's big asset and this comp issue has been a constant concern of shareholders once the Delaware soap opera began."
Tesla stock rallied 2% in response in Monday's premarket trading. Shares are looking to snap a four-day losing streak.
Stock Market Today: AMD, Palantir Earnings Loom
After Friday's July jobs report raised concerns, the Institute for Supply Management services index on Tuesday will highlight the coming week's economic data. Economists are looking for the index to rise to 52.2 from 50.8 in June, an indicator of accelerating expansion.
Key earnings reports this week include Advanced Micro Devices, Astera Labs and Palantir Technologies, along with Dow Jones names Caterpillar, Amgen, Disney and McDonald's.
Be sure to follow Scott Lehtonen on X at @IBD_SLehtonen for more on growth stocks, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the stock market today.
