U.S. equities paused near record highs but posted mixed moves Monday as investors parsed a fresh wave of earnings and a handful of corporate catalysts. Shares of Trade Desk fell about 7%, on track for a fourth straight session in the red, after last week’s results fell short of expectations and amid a string of downgrades. HSBC cut its rating on Trade Desk to reduce from hold and lowered the price target to $20 from $31, implying roughly 13% downside from Friday’s close, according to CNBC.
In contrast, Corning jumped roughly 10% after Nvidia said it would invest up to $3.2 billion in Corning and partner to open three new manufacturing plants focused on optical technologies. Bank of America added Corning to its U.S. 1 List of top buy-rated ideas, helping the stock extend a six-day winning run. The moves highlight how AI-driven supply chain and manufacturing investments are shaping sentiment in select industrial names, even as ad-tech and some consumer names face softer near-term outlooks.
Key takeaways
- Trade Desk fell about 7% after earnings miss and a wave of downgrades; HSBC cut its rating to reduce from hold and trimmed the price target to $20, signaling about 13% downside from the prior close. The move adds to recent pressure on advertising technology names.
- Corning climbed about 10%, supported by Nvidia’s investment pledge and a three-plant expansion in optical tech; Bank of America added Corning to its U.S. 1 List of top buy-rated ideas, helping the stock extend its gains into a sixth straight session.
- Chip sector broadly higher as AI demand and supply-chain reshuffles take hold. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF rose more than 1%; Qualcomm jumped about 7% to a fresh 52-week high, with Western Digital up close to 8% and Nvidia rising about 3%.
- Monday.com rose about 6% after beating on earnings and revenue in its first-quarter results. The company cited its AI platform as a key driver, with quarterly revenue rising 24% year over year to $351.3 million, topping consensus of $339.1 million.
- Circle Internet Group advanced about 15% following mixed Q1 results. EPS of 21 cents beat expectations by 3 cents, while revenue of $694 million missed estimates of $722 million. Circle also announced a token presale that raised $222 million from institutions including BlackRock, Apollo, and Intercontinental Exchange.
What drove the move
The trading session reflected a mix of earnings catalysts, sector rotations, and strategic corporate developments. In technology and semiconductors, investors rotated into AI-enabled themes even as some hardware and software names faced near-term headwinds. The chip complex found support as investors priced in continued demand for AI chips and related components, with Qualcomm surging to multi-quarter highs and the broader semiconductor group gaining on Monday. Nvidia’s ongoing attention within the AI ecosystem helped lift price action in adjacent names, while Western Digital benefited from the broader memory and storage cycle in the wake of AI-driven server refresh expectations.
Beyond semiconductors, a key corporate driver came from Corning, whose stock surged on the Nvidia partnership news and the positive sentiment from Bank of America’s upgrade to a top buy idea list. The move also underscores how AI-capital investments are translating into tangible manufacturing expansions in the optics and display segments, potentially signaling a longer-term re-rating of materials and components tied to AI-enabled infrastructure.
In consumer discretionary, the fast-food chain Wendy’s faced renewed selling pressure after JPMorgan downgraded shares to underweight with a $6 price target, citing a continued decline in headline U.S. same-store sales and uncertainty around the brand’s longer-term trajectory. The downgrade highlighted the bifurcated nature of the market, where some well-performing names can still face meaningful downside risk if consumer trends deteriorate faster than expected.
Circle’s quarterly results and a token presale also added an angle of crypto-market funding to the mix. While earnings per share beat estimates, revenue came in below expectations, and the company’s fundraising activity provided an additional data point on how crypto liquidity and traditional markets intersect during a period of heightened AI investment interest.
Elsewhere, Monday.com’s solid top- and bottom-line results reinforced the narrative that AI-enabled software platforms are translating into meaningful growth, especially when new product launches can be monetized quickly. Sony’s announcement of a joint venture with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company to develop and manufacture image sensors further illustrated how traditional tech players are seeking to combine design and process capabilities to sharpen performance in high-value components like sensors.
Energy shares also added to the day’s breadth gains as oil prices moved higher on geopolitical tensions and shifting supply expectations. Iran’s rejection of the latest U.S. peace proposal and President Donald Trump’s rejection of Iran’s counteroffer helped lift crude trading, with refiners and producers posting modest gains across the sector.
What analysts are saying
Analysts cited a mix of idiosyncratic company factors and broader macro dynamics. Bank of America’s addition of Corning to its U.S. 1 List suggests confidence in Corning’s positioning within AI-driven optical technologies and the company’s potential to benefit from the planned manufacturing expansions. JPMorgan’s downgrade of Wendy’s reflects concerns about the pace of U.S. same-store sales recovery and the lack of a clear path to stronger fundamentals for the brand.
In the memory sector, investors have closely watched Micron’s moves. The stock has surged in recent sessions amid AI demand-driven demand for memory and related capacity, rising sharply over the past month as supply-tight conditions support prices. The latest data point sits within a broader memory cycle that has drawn attention from investors looking for durable, AI-capable hardware stocks.
Bigger picture
The session underscores the continuing bifurcation in markets as investors weigh cyclical and secular drivers. AI-related capex and demand remain a key narrative for hardware and optical players, while consumer brands face ongoing questions about mid-cycle demand and pricing power. The increasing visibility of partnerships and manufacturing expansions in the optical and sensor sectors points to a broader strategy of tying AI-enabled demand to tangible production capacity. At the same time, the dynamic in ad-tech equities like Trade Desk highlights how mixed earnings and downgrades can quickly shift sentiment in a space that has benefited from earlier growth expectations but now faces a tightening near-term outlook.
Looking ahead, investors will be focused on upcoming earnings reports and guidance from tech and consumer companies, as well as macro data that could inform the pace of monetary normalization. The broader market will continue to weigh AI-driven growth against traditional sector rotations. Investors should monitor how changes in policy, supply chains, and demand signals feed into valuations across tech, materials, and energy names.
In the near term, market participants will watch for further developments on AI deployment across enterprise IT, continued updates on semiconductor supply chains, and any shifts in consumer spending that could shape the trajectory of adjacent equities. As always, the path forward will depend on the balance between earnings visibility, macro momentum, and the evolving policy backdrop.
Until next catalysts—earnings, data releases, and central-bank commentary—market participants are likely to remain selective in chasing leadership and focusing on the durability of the AI-enabled growth narrative.
