US stock markets experienced broad gains on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbing more than 600 points during the session. At the close, the Dow was up 1.38%, the S&P 500 rose 1.15%, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.38%.
Major technology stocks advanced collectively. Tesla increased over 3%, Amazon rose more than 2%, and Facebook gained nearly 2%. Nvidia and Apple both climbed over 1%.
Most semiconductor stocks traded higher, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rising 1.34%. Broadcom surged more than 4%, while ASML and ARM gained over 3%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company advanced more than 2%. In contrast, Micron Technology fell over 4%, and Qualcomm declined more than 1%.
Energy stocks mostly moved upward. ExxonMobil rose nearly 1%, Chevron increased over 1%, and Schlumberger jumped more than 5%.
Airline stocks recorded across-the-board gains. Boeing rose over 1%, American Airlines climbed more than 3%, Delta Air Lines increased over 2%, Southwest Airlines advanced more than 2%, and United Airlines surged over 4%.
Most US-listed Chinese stocks closed higher, with the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index rising 0.86%. Chang'an Energy skyrocketed 87%, while E-Power Energy surged over 14%. XPeng Motors gained over 7%, NIO rose approximately 7%, Pony.ai increased nearly 5%, and Kingsoft Cloud climbed over 3%. Conversely, KE Holdings fell nearly 3%, and Atour Lifestyle declined over 2%.
In commodity markets, international gold and silver prices experienced sharp volatility. After a brief opening drop, spot gold rebounded to $4,432 per ounce, while spot silver traded at $69.6 per ounce. The previous session saw extreme swings, with gold briefly falling below $4,100 before staging a strong recovery to $4,500.
Regarding gold's outlook, one analysis suggests a firm bottom may not yet be established in the short term. A true bottom would depend on three factors: oil prices peaking, expectations for interest rate hikes reaching a peak, and US dollar liquidity topping out. Over the next two to six weeks, gold may face continued pressure and could retest the $4,200 level. However, the long-term view remains positive, supported by central bank allocations, ETF inflows, geopolitical risks, and asset reallocation, though the pace of future gains may slow compared to 2025.
International oil prices fell sharply. WTI crude for May delivery dropped $10.10, or over 10.28%, to settle at $88.13 per barrel. Brent crude for May declined $12.25, or nearly 10.92%, to close at $99.94 per barrel.
Major cryptocurrencies posted gains, with Bitcoin returning to the $70,000 level. Over the past 24 hours, nearly 130,000 traders faced liquidations.
In geopolitical developments, the US President stated that the US had "strong" dialogue with Iran, describing the talks as "perfect" and indicating that key points of an agreement had been formed. If progress continues, it could lead to an end to the conflict.
However, Iranian officials repeatedly denied any negotiations with the US. The Speaker of Iran's Parliament stated that reports of talks were "false news" aimed at manipulating financial and oil markets to help the US and Israel extricate themselves from difficult situations. An Iranian source further claimed that fabricated reports were intended to create conditions for an assassination attempt.
Separately, the Israeli Prime Minister stated in a video address that the US President conveyed that "war objectives" regarding Iran could be achieved through an agreement. He also affirmed that Israel would continue airstrikes against Iran and Lebanon.
According to the latest CME FedWatch Tool, the probability of a 25-basis-point rate hike in April stands at 7.2%, with a 92.8% chance rates remain unchanged. For June, the likelihood of a cumulative 25-basis-point hike is 9.1%, while the probability of a 50-basis-point increase is 0.2%, with a 90.7% chance that rates stay unchanged.