U.S. Energy Corp. signed a five-year helium sales deal with an unnamed global industrial gas company, securing a buyer for output from its planned Big Sky Carbon Hub in Montana. The contract
Shell will acquire ARC Resources Ltd. for about US$16.4 billion including debt, in a stock-and-cash deal that boosts Shell’s output in Canada’s Montney shale basin. ARC shareholders get C$8.20 in cash and 0.40247 Shell shares per ARC share. ARC’s board unanimously backed the deal, which values ARC at a 27% premium. ARC shares rose over 22% in Toronto; Shell’s fell 2.1% in London.
Sandisk shares jumped 7.4% to a record $1,063.55 Monday after Melius Research initiated coverage with a Buy rating and $1,350 target. Trading volume reached nearly 9.6 million shares. The company reports fiscal third-quarter results April 30, with options markets pricing in a 16.57% implied move. Sandisk joined the Nasdaq-100 Index on April 20.
Nokia shares closed up 3.69% in Helsinki at 9.276 euros after analyst upgrades and strong first-quarter results, with U.S. shares rising 2.6%. The company reported a 54% jump in comparable operating profit to 281 million euros and a 49% increase in sales to AI and cloud customers. Nokia raised its 2026 Network Infrastructure sales growth target to 12%-14%. The first dividend instalment went ex-dividend Monday at 0.04 euros per share.
Domino’s Pizza shares fell nearly 10% after the company cut its 2026 comparable-sales outlook, citing weak demand and tougher competition. U.S. same-store sales rose 0.9% in the first quarter, missing estimates, while international same-store sales slipped 0.4%. Revenue increased 3.5% to $1.15 billion, but net income dropped 6.6% to $139.8 million. The board approved another $1 billion in share buybacks.
Snap Inc. shares jumped 8.5% Monday after Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded the stock to Buy and doubled its price target to $10. The move follows Snap’s April job cuts and cost-saving plan, with investors awaiting first-quarter results next week. Snap reported fourth-quarter revenue of $1.716 billion and net income of $45 million. CFO Derek Andersen will step down after the May 6 earnings call.
The Dow Jones fell 71.54 points, or 0.15%, to 49,159.17 on Monday as oil prices jumped and U.S.-Iran talks stalled. The S&P 500 was flat and the Nasdaq slipped 0.07% in delayed data. Brent crude rose about 3% amid limited shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Investors watched for Big Tech earnings and upcoming inflation data.
The S&P 500 was little changed Monday, while the Dow and Nasdaq slipped after recent record highs. Brent crude rose about 3% to $108.46 a barrel as U.S.-Iran talks stalled and Strait of Hormuz shipments stayed limited. Microsoft shares dipped after OpenAI ended its exclusive AI access, while Nvidia gained, reclaiming a $5 trillion market value. Major tech earnings and a Federal Reserve meeting are due this week.
Wren Kitchens’ U.S. parent filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Delaware after abruptly closing all U.S. showrooms and in-store studios, leaving customers with unfinished kitchen orders and employees without notice. The April 24 petition listed assets and liabilities of $100 million to $500 million. Connecticut’s consumer protection agency is investigating. Home Depot said it had no advance warning of the closures.
Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) held $88.3 billion in net assets as of April 24, with a 3.34% 30-day SEC yield and 0.060% expense ratio. Vanguard’s S&P 500 ETF (VOO) offered a lower 1.16% yield and 0.03% expense ratio. SCHD’s top holdings included Texas Instruments, UnitedHealth, and Chevron. SCHD traded near its 52-week high above $31 on Monday.
Rocket Lab shares fell 2.3% to $77.83 Monday, extending recent volatility as investors await first-quarter results due May 7. A technical note flagged weak near-term sentiment despite strong annual revenue growth and a $1.85 billion backlog. SpaceX’s planned IPO has increased scrutiny of space-sector valuations. Rocket Lab completed its second dedicated launch for JAXA on April 23.
RTX traded near $174 Monday after Erste Group downgraded the stock to “hold” from “buy,” following an 11% drop over five sessions despite strong quarterly results and a raised 2026 outlook. The company reported Q1 sales of $22.1 billion, up 9%, and adjusted EPS of $1.78, up 21%. Tariff costs and valuation concerns continued to weigh on shares. RTX’s market value stands near $235 billion.
Uber shares rose about 2% Monday, trading near $76.17, after renewed focus on Bill Ackman’s stake and autonomous vehicle plans. Uber and Lucid agreed to buy at least 25,000 Lucid vehicles for robotaxi use, raising Uber’s total Lucid commitment to 35,000 units. An Uber subsidiary will purchase $200 million in Lucid stock. Competition from Waymo, Tesla, and Chinese rivals is intensifying.
Microsoft will report fiscal Q3 results Wednesday, with focus on Azure growth and AI spending after a $357 billion market value loss last quarter. A new Microsoft-OpenAI deal announced Monday makes Microsoft’s OpenAI license non-exclusive and changes revenue-sharing terms. Analysts expect revenue near $81.4 billion. Microsoft guided for Azure and other cloud services growth of 37% to 38%, down from 39% last quarter.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.17% to 7,153.03 late Monday morning as U.S. stocks retreated from record highs ahead of major tech earnings and a Federal Reserve decision. Brent crude rose 2.1% to $107.49 a barrel amid stalled U.S.-Iran talks and shipping disruptions. Nearly half the S&P 500’s market value is set to report earnings this week, including Microsoft, Meta, Apple, Alphabet, and Amazon.
Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF edged up 12 cents to $352.17 after an early dip Monday, as investors weighed upcoming mega-cap tech earnings against oil-market risks tied to Iran. The fund remains up 0.59% over the past five days. Oil forecasts rose after Middle East supply concerns, with Goldman Sachs now seeing Brent at $90 a barrel in the fourth quarter. Peer equity ETFs traded mixed in early action.
The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.4% to 24,738.40 Monday after hitting a record, as investors braced for major Big Tech earnings and tracked new OpenAI-linked AI deals. Brent crude jumped 2.44% to $107.90 following stalled U.S.-Iran talks. Microsoft shares dipped after OpenAI ended its exclusive cloud partnership. Qualcomm rose on reports of OpenAI smartphone chip plans.
Intel shares climbed 2.7% to $84.76 on Monday, extending a post-earnings rally that pushed its market value to $430.6 billion. The company reported first-quarter revenue of $13.6 billion, up 7%, with its Data Center and AI unit rising 22% to $5.1 billion. Investors are shifting focus to AI CPUs, though risks remain around supply and Intel’s foundry business.
Boeing narrowed its first-quarter net loss to $7 million from $31 million a year earlier and reported $22.2 billion in revenue, up 14%. The company delivered 143 commercial jets, outpacing Airbus for the quarter, but used $1.5 billion in free cash flow. Boeing’s backlog hit a record $695 billion. Shares traded near $231.54 early Monday in New York.
Walmart shares hovered near $129 Monday, keeping its market value above $1 trillion as investors watched growth in China and new Sam’s Club delivery options. Sam’s Club fulfilled nearly 65,000 one-hour Express orders since April 2 across 600 clubs. Walmart China’s Q4 net sales rose 19.3% to $6.1 billion, with e-commerce accounting for over half. New Sam’s Clubs opened in Jiangsu, with more set for Shandong and Liaoning.
Alphabet will report first-quarter results after markets close Wednesday, with options pricing suggesting a possible 5% stock move by week’s end. Visible Alpha estimates revenue at $106.97 billion, up 19% from a year ago, and earnings per share at $2.73, down 3 cents. Investors are watching if heavy AI and data-center spending is driving growth in Google Cloud and Search.
Geely sold 709,358 vehicles in Q1 2026, its highest ever for the period, with exports up 126% to 203,024 units. China’s EV exports reached $21 billion in Q1, up from $12 billion a year earlier, after the Iran war disrupted oil flows. Geely aims to sell over 6.5 million vehicles annually by 2030, with three-quarters as new energy vehicles. BYD’s domestic sales have fallen for seven months as rivals gain ground.
Applied Digital Corp. signed a $7.5 billion, 15-year lease with an unnamed U.S. hyperscaler for 300 megawatts at its Delta Forge 1 campus, pushing total contracted lease revenue above $23 billion. The campus is set to begin operations in mid-2027. Shares rose over 12% after the announcement. The company ended its fiscal third quarter with $2.1 billion in cash and $2.7 billion in debt.
HawkEye 360 said Monday it is seeking a U.S. IPO valuation of up to $2.42 billion, following SpaceX’s confidential filing earlier this month. SpaceX is targeting a $1.75 trillion valuation with less than 5% of shares to float publicly. The company hosted a three-day analyst event last week as details began to emerge. Starlink and Starship are expected to drive investor interest.
SoundHound AI shares fell 1.4% to $8.08 in early Nasdaq trading Monday after announcing an all-stock deal to buy LivePerson for about $43 million in equity value. The acquisition, expected to close in the second half of 2026, would combine SoundHound’s voice AI with LivePerson’s messaging platform, pending regulatory approval.
Verizon shares rose 3% after the company reported a surprise gain of 55,000 postpaid phone customers in Q1, beating analyst expectations of a loss. Adjusted EPS climbed 7.6% to $1.28, and revenue rose 2.9% to $34.4 billion. Verizon raised its 2026 profit outlook but missed Wall Street revenue estimates. Customer credits from a January outage reduced wireless service revenue growth.
Micron Technology shares rose 3% premarket Monday to near $497, valuing the company at about $567 billion. The stock gained after strong fiscal Q2 results, with revenue jumping to $23.86 billion and net income at $13.79 billion. Analysts cited high demand for Micron’s high-bandwidth memory used in AI chips, with new products shipping to Nvidia.
Meta shares rose to $675.03 ahead of first-quarter earnings due April 29, valuing the company at $1.74 trillion. Meta has guided for Q1 revenue of $53.5–$56.5 billion and 2026 capital expenditures of up to $135 billion. Analysts project share prices could top $1,000 in coming years, but warn of regulatory and spending risks. Meta recently announced expanded use of Amazon Web Services for AI infrastructure.
Strategy Inc. bought 3,273 bitcoin for $255 million last week, raising its total holdings to 818,334 BTC and keeping it ahead of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust. Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz warned that Strategy’s pace could strain supply. Bitcoin traded near $77,660 after nine days of U.S. spot ETF inflows. Strategy funded the purchase by selling 1.45 million shares through an at-the-market program.
Nippon Life Global Investors Americas disclosed a new 531,310-share stake in Samsara Inc, valued at about $18.8 million, according to MarketBeat. Samsara shares traded at $29.96 premarket, with institutional ownership at 96.02%. Teachers Retirement System of Kentucky also raised its stake by 22.9%. Samsara reported Q4 revenue of $444.3 million, up 28% year-over-year.
Marvell Technology shares closed at $164.31 on April 24, above B. Riley’s new $156 price target and well above the analyst average of $120.28. The stock surged over 125% in eight weeks, fueled by AI chip and optical networking deals with Nvidia and others. Some analysts raised targets to $170, while others warned the rally may be overextended. Marvell traded at $160.88 premarket Monday.
China’s National Development and Reform Commission ordered Meta to unwind its $2 billion acquisition of AI startup Manus, citing foreign investment security rules. Meta had completed the deal in December, with Manus staff and assets already moved to Singapore. The order comes days before a planned Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing. Meta said it complied with all laws and expects a resolution.
The Federal Reserve is expected to keep its benchmark rate at 3.50%-3.75% on Wednesday, as inflation risks rise from higher oil prices and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. Chair Jerome Powell may lead his final policy meeting, with markets watching for signals on future hikes. Key GDP and PCE inflation data are due Thursday morning. Investors currently see little chance of a rate cut this year.
Joby Aviation completed New York City’s first electric air taxi flights between JFK Airport and Manhattan heliports, demonstrating a seven-minute route. The flights follow Joby’s 2025 acquisition of Blade Air Mobility’s passenger business. CEO JoeBen Bevirt called the flights a preview of operations under the federal eVTOL Integration Pilot Program. Joby expects 2026 to be a commercial inflection year, with first passenger flights in Dubai planned for 2024.
A $16 billion Michigan data-center financing tied to Oracle and OpenAI closed Friday, as Wedbush’s Dan Ives issued a buy call on Oracle despite investor concerns over AI spending. Oracle shares traded at $173.28 premarket Monday, down 1.7%. Fiscal Q3 revenue rose 22% to $17.2 billion; cloud infrastructure revenue climbed 84%. Oracle projects $67 billion in fiscal 2026 revenue and $50 billion in capital expenditures.