Stocks Soar, Gold Dips: What's Driving the Market Madness?

Stocks Climbing Towards New Highs

• S&P 500, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq all up
• Building on last week's record-breaking gains
• Busy week ahead with market-moving events

Global Stocks on the Rise

• Asia sees gains ahead of U.S.-China meeting
• U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hints at discussion framework
• President Donald Trump expresses optimism about resolving issues

Federal Reserve and Interest Rates

• Investors betting on another rate cut this week
• Decision expected Wednesday
• Most traders predict a quarter-point cut
• Inflation report slightly better than expected
• Government shutdown may delay future updates

Corporate Earnings

• Keurig Dr Pepper sees 6.9% boost after meeting profit expectations
• Tech giants reporting this week:
• Alphabet
• Meta Platforms
• Microsoft
• Amazon
• Apple
• Need to show strong growth and justify AI spending
• Concerns about AI bubble similar to dot-com boom and bust

Mergers and Acquisitions

• Cadence Bank rises after Huntington Bancshares announces $7.4 billion buyout
• Avidity Biosciences skyrockets after Novartis agrees to $12 billion deal

Overseas Market Moves

• Europe sees modest gains
• Asia has bigger jumps
• Japan's Nikkei 225 hits 50,000 for the first time
• Thanks to new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's market-friendly policies
• 10-year Treasury yield dips slightly

Gold Prices

• Optimism pushes gold prices down
• After nearing $4,400 last week, gold falls back towards $4,000
• Still up over 50% for the year