Stock futures were rallying Monday after a lull in fighting in the Middle East over the weekend sparked a drop in oil prices and eased fears about higher inflation.
Chip and memory stocks were rising ahead of a slew of earnings reports from mega-cap tech companies, which should give investors a better sense of how long the artificial-intelligence spending boom can last.
Memory-card maker Sandisk jumped 5% and chips and networking company Marvell added 4% ahead of the opening bell. Advanced Micro Devices, Intel, Micron, and Super Micro Computer also rose.
Nvidia gained 1% following a report the chip maker was in talks to guarantee $250 billion in financing for OpenAI for potentially the largest data-center project to date.
Lower oil prices dragged down energy stocks. Chevron slid 3% and ExxonMobil decline 3.2%. APA, Diamondback Energy, Devon Energy, EOG Resources, Occidental Petroleum, and Valero Energy also fwere alling.
Broadcom climbed 2.7% after the chip maker signed a memorandum of understanding to expand its relationship with Samsung Electronics. The companies expect the collaboration to be worth more than $200 billion over the next five years through 2030. Samsung's South Korean shares closed 1.8% higher.
Delta Air Lines gained 3.2% and United Airlines advanced 3.9% as investors bet that lower oil prices would lead to cheaper fuel costs. United approached Delta about a merger last year, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Delta didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from Barron's. United declined to comment.
Forte Biosciences surged 39% to $76.02 after Argenx agreed to buy the biopharmaceutical company for $77 a share in cash, representing a total equity value of approximately $2.2 billion.
Write to George Glover at george.glover@dowjones.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 27, 2026 06:38 ET (10:38 GMT)
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