Rocket Lab (RKLB) stock slides 10% as Mars sample-return hopes fade — what investors watch next

Shares of AST SpaceMobile climbed roughly 6.3% to $111.11 by 2:46 p.m. EST Tuesday, after fluctuating between $105.82 and $116.60 earlier, with about 11.5 million shares changing hands. The stock followed a broader rally in U.S. space companies sparked by Elon Musk’s announcement that SpaceX will merge with xAI, valuing the combined entity at $1.25 trillion. Rocket Lab, Planet Labs, and Intuitive Machines also saw gains. Musk predicted that within two to three years, the most cost-effective way to power AI will be from space. Mark Boggett of Seraphim Space called the deal “the strongest validation yet that space will be the backbone of the next wave of AI.”