The Dow Jones Industrial Average and other indexes surged Monday on hopes President Donald Trump will back off on some tariff plans, though he issued a new threat as the day wore on. Meanwhile, Magnificent Seven names Tesla and Nvidia jumped, and famed investor Cathie Wood snapped up a plunging stock on the stock market today.
Stocks tried to build on last week's rebound, a positive sign, and were near session highs heading into the close. The Dow industrials bolted nearly 600 points higher for a gain of 1.4%. Outside of Magnificent Seven names on the blue-chip index, Home Depot fared best with a lift of 3.6%. Visa and Goldman Sachs also impressed with gains of 2% to 3% each.
The Nasdaq composite fared even better, rising 2.2%. But the tech-heavy index remains down around 6% so far this year. Palantir Technologies, a new stock on Investor's Business Daily's Leaderboard, stood out as it jumped nearly 7%. Further, bitcoin play Strategy and AppLovin were also strong performers, with Strategy surging more than 10% and AppLovin climbing in excess of 8%.
Stock Market Today: Small Caps, Growth Stocks Shine
The benchmark S&P 500 rose nearly 2% and is now fighting to regain its 200-day moving average. S&P 500 sectors were all positive on the stock market today. Consumer discretionary, technology and communication services fared best. Utilities and consumer staples, both defensive areas, made the smallest gains.
Advanced Micro Devices, which is an alternative artificial intelligence play, was one of the best performers as it jumped 7%. Monolithic Power Systems and United Airlines also outperformed with gains of 6% and 7%, respectively.
Small caps also shined on the stock market today. The Russell 2000 index bulked up 2.6% but its 200-day moving average now trades slightly above the 50-day line, a bearish technical maneuver known as the "death cross."
Growth stocks also had a strong showing, with the Innovator IBD 50 exchange traded fund popping 2%. The fund remains down roughly 1% thus far this year.
Volume was lower on both the Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange compared with the same time on Friday. While the Nasdaq was higher much of the day, the triple witching that took place Friday made it hard for Monday's volume to ultimately finish ahead.
Cathie Wood Snaps Up Plunging Stock
A contrarian approach to investing is to snap up stocks as other investors flee for the exits. This is an approach favored by ARK Invest Chief Executive Cathie Wood, who snapped up shares of ailing Beam Therapeutics on Friday.
Her firm, where she also serves as chief investment officer, snapped up more than 24,000 Beam shares for the ARK Innovation exchange traded fund.
Beam stock had plummeted around 53% from its 2024 high of 49.50 to Friday's closing price of 23.30. Cathie Wood already has a profit on Friday's purchase though, as the stock rose more than 3% on the stock market today.
Nevertheless, current market conditions and the fact shares are trading below the 50-day and 200-day moving averages means those following IBD investing principles should give this equity a pass. It also has a sub-par IBD Composite Rating of 22 out of 99.
The company aims to develop lifelong cures for patients suffering from serious disease through the use of gene-editing treatments.
The ARKK fund also bought nearly 42,000 shares in Iridium Communications and around 23,000 shares in Recursion Pharmaceuticals. It also snapped up more than 243,300 shares in penny stock Pacific Biosciences of California
Additionally, it sold around 35,000 Illumina shares. This medical research equipment play is down more than 33% so far in 2025.
Tesla Soars Amid FBI Move; Magnificent Seven Rally
The so-called Magnificent Seven group of stocks have had a challenging year so far in 2025. However, Tesla looks on track for a banner day as it attempts to bounce back from recent losses.
The electric vehicle play soared by nearly 12%. This was enough to lift it clear of its short-term moving averages, though it still lags the 200-day and 50-day lines.
While Tesla has fallen for the past nine weeks in a row, it is on track to rise for the fourth successive session. It is on pace for its biggest percentage increase since Nov. 11, when it rose 8.96%, according to Dow Jones data. Still, it remains down more than 30% for the year.
One reason the stock may be rallying so strongly is Reuters reported the company is about to roll out Full Self-Driving, its highest-level driver-assistance product, in China.
Stock Market Today: Mag 7 Prospers
There was also news late Monday that FBI is launching a new task force to investigate attacks targeting Tesla and its vehicles. The company has become a target due to Chief Executive Elon Musk and his role helping the Trump administration. He is heading up the Department of Government Efficiency, which seeks to slash federal spending.
The New York Post, which broke the story, said the FBI has received reports of 48 instances so far in March related to Tesla vehicles, dealerships and charging stations.
The rest of the much-watched Magnificent Seven also had good sessions. Dow Jones stock Nvidia was the next-best performer as it rallied more than 3%.
The artificial intelligence play has risen off recent lows, but remains below the conjoined 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
Meta Platforms and Amazon.com also flexed their muscles with gains of nearly 4% each.
Google-parent Alphabet rose more than 2%. Apple and Microsoft brought up the rear with gains of 1.1% and 0.5%, respectively.
3:26 p.m. ET
Trump Makes Venezuela Tariff Threat
While there were positive developments on the tariff front, President Trump continues to be aggressive on the issue. He has now threatened to impose a 25% tariff on countries that purchase oil or gas from Venezuela.
"Venezuela has been very hostile to the United States and the freedoms which we espouse. Therefore, any country that purchases oil and/or gas from Venezuela will be forced to pay a tariff of 25% to the United States on any trade they do with our country," a post on Trump's Truth Social account said Monday.
Despite this, Reuters reported that the Trump administration has extended a license that the U.S. granted to Chevron to operate in sanctioned Venezuela and export its oil. It is now due to last until May 27.
The largest customers for Venezuelan oil last year were China, the U.S., India and Spain.
Genius Sports Clears Buy Point
Genius Sports made a bullish move Monday as it cleared a consolidation entry of 10.33, MarketSurge analysis shows.
Overall strong performance is reflected in its IBD Composite Rating of 93 out of 99. While its Earnings Per Share Rating of 57 is not ideal, it is seen swinging to earnings of five cents a share this year. Per-share earnings then are expected to soar 272% in 2026.
Genius Sports went public through a merger with special purpose acquisition company dMY Technology Group back in 2021. While it remains well off its all-time highs, so far this year the stock is up nearly 26%.
The company is the official data provider for National Football League games. It also has partnerships with the likes of the National Basketball Association and golf's PGA Tour.
It also provides data to sports betting companies including Flutter Entertainment, DraftKings and BetMGM
12:36 p.m. ET
Services Activity Beats Views But Manufacturing Lags
The latest S&P flash U.S. services and manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index data was issued Monday, and came in mixed.
Services activity was stronger than economists expected in March, rising to 54.3 from the prior month's reading of 49.7. Economists predicted a reading of 51.2, according to Econoday.
By contrast, manufacturing came in below views. It fell to 49.8 from February's 51.6. The consensus estimate for this gauge was 51.8.
Stock Market Today: More Stocks Test Buy Points
A number of other issues were testing buy points amid the encouraging action on Monday's market. EZCorp moved into a buy zone after clearing a flat base entry of 14.50, MarketSurge analysis shows.
The relative strength line has hit fresh heights, a bullish sign.
Consumer loans play EZCorp has an IBD Composite Rating of 96 out of 99, reflecting good all-around performance. The highly-rated Wasatch Micro Cap Fund (WMICX) is among the noteworthy backers of the stock. MarketSurge data shows funds hold 78% of shares.
Also, oil-and-gas exploration stock Antero Resources is flirting with a 41.53 consolidation entry. It briefly cleared this level, but was just below it in recent action.
It is in the top 5% of issues in terms of price performance over the past 12 months, but its EPS Rating of 38 out of 99 is poor. However, analysts see earnings gushing 855% higher in 2025 before slowing to 11% growth next year.
11:11 a.m. ET
These Trump Tariff Hopes Boost Stocks
One constant overhang on stocks of late is the tariff agenda pursued by President Trump. However there was some relief Monday on news the Trump administration may exclude some countries from his reciprocal tariffs on April 2.
In addition, it is considering not imposing new, separate sector-specific tariffs on automobiles, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.
Nevertheless, tariffs will still be coming into effect on countries that account for most of the U.S.'s imports. While tariffs are inflationary in the short term, the fact they dampen demand means they can be deflationary in the long run.
It comes after Trump said Friday that there is some potential wiggle room when it comes to levies.
While the president voiced resistance to making exceptions, he did tell reporters that "the word flexibility is an important word." Trump added that "there'll be flexibility, but basically it's reciprocal."
DNA Testing Firm Plummets On Bankruptcy Move
It was once a highflier, but 23andMe has proved to be a fine example of long-term value destruction as it plummeted Monday. The DNA testing firm plummeted on news the company has filed for bankruptcy.
Anne Wojcicki has resigned from her role as chief executive, though she will remain as a board member, at least for now. The company once had a market cap of $6 billion and shares hit an all-time high of 363.20 in February 2021.
Now shares are trading for less than a dollar and it is down 99.8% from that old high.
So far this year alone the stock has plunged more than 70%. This means painful losses for those who attempted to buy the dip despite the company's ongoing profitability issues. If ever there was an example of why it is important to follow sell rules, this is it.
Stock Market Today: Catalyst Clears Entry
Given the encouraging action on the market Monday, it is important to track stocks clearing buy points.
Catalyst Pharmaceuticals moved into a buy zone in morning action after clearing a consolidation entry of 24.64, MarketSurge analysis shows. It is pulling away from the 50-day moving average and its relative strength line is hitting fresh heights. These are both bullish signs.
Overall strong performance shows up in its IBD Composite Rating of 98. Earnings are a key strength, with its EPS Rating a best-possible 99.
So far this year, the stock has risen by more than 23%. Institutional backing is also on the rise, a positive sign. In total, funds hold 61% of Catalyst shares.
Please follow Michael Larkin on X at @IBD_MLarkin for more analysis of growth stocks.
