Welcome back to Markets Desk, your midday read on what's moving money and markets.
Equities surged Monday with the S&P five hundred closing up two point three five percent, the Dow adding two point one five, and the Nasdaq one hundred leading the charge with a gain of three point four percent. Buyers returned aggressively to chipmakers and artificial intelligence names, driving the session's broad risk-on tone.
Driving much of that sentiment was the story surrounding Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, whose affair scandal took an unexpected political turn. President Trump publicly backed Huang, saying the CEO told him he was unaware the individual he had an affair with was a spy. Trump added he believes him, and Nvidia reiterated Huang remains fully committed to leading the company without interruption. Analysts are nonetheless watching succession scenarios closely, with CFO Colette Kress and AI infrastructure head Ian Buck emerging as the names most discussed inside and outside the company.
Shifting to commodities, natural gas futures jumped seven point three four percent Monday, settling at a four-week high as forecasts for colder temperatures across the United States drove fund managers to cover short positions aggressively. Surging liquefied natural gas export volumes added further upward pressure, tightening the domestic supply picture heading into the heart of heating season.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
