U.S. and Canadian stock markets closed higher on Monday, buoyed in part by the filing of Anthropic’s initial public offering (IPO), which provided a boost to artificial intelligence (AI) related shares amid broader market anticipation. Anthropic, an AI lab focused on developing advanced AI systems, revealed substantial revenue growth alongside significant losses in its IPO registration, illustrating the high costs involved in scaling its technology.
The announcement helped ease concerns about a potential AI market bubble at a time when investor attention is on a packed calendar of key events. This week includes the Federal Reserve’s policy statement on Wednesday, economic data on U.S. growth and inflation on Thursday, and corporate earnings reports from more than a third of the S&P 500 companies. Among those reporting results are major technology firms Alphabet, Microsoft, and Amazon, whose earnings will be closely analyzed for evidence of returns on their extensive AI investments. The Bank of Canada is also expected to announce an interest rate hike this week.
On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 146.42 points, or 0.28%, to 52,361.88. The S&P 500 rose 53.09 points, or 0.70%, reaching 7,676.77, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 214.04 points, or 0.83%, closing at 26,169.38.
The fixed income market showed mixed movements, with short-term Treasury yields rising ahead of the Fed meeting. The two-year Treasury yield increased slightly to 4.712%, while the 10-year yield remained nearly flat at just under 5%. The 30-year bond yield declined modestly to 5.3%.
In currency markets, the U.S. dollar strengthened after left-wing incumbent Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won re-election, prompting a sharp decline in the Brazilian real, which lost more than 10% against the dollar at its low point. Brazil’s benchmark stock index also fell roughly 13%, marking one of its largest historic single-day drops.
Energy markets saw a pullback, with oil futures falling $1.51, or 1.5%, to $101.76 a barrel as traders weighed possible progress in U.S.-Iran diplomatic efforts against ongoing Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia.
Within the tech sector, investor sentiment remained cautious despite Anthropic’s IPO filing that helped stabilize AI stocks. Meta Platforms announced plans to raise up to $95 billion through a series of stock offerings to support its AI infrastructure investments, although its shares fell 1.9% amid concerns over its aggressive spending strategies. Microsoft’s shares rose 1.5% following news of voluntary buyouts offered to about 60,000 employees worldwide, reflecting efforts to streamline operations in the face of broader market shifts. Amazon gained 0.4%, while Alphabet’s shares declined 1%.
Concerns about credit risk among smaller AI and cloud-computing firms were highlighted by comments from SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who predicted consolidation and failures among so-called “neocloud” companies. Despite these concerns, SpaceX is actively raising funds to support its infrastructure expansion through a financing deal with Apollo Global Management.
Separately, in the energy sector, EQT Corp. agreed to acquire Range Resources in a nearly $13 billion stock swap deal, creating a major U.S. natural-gas producer focused on the Appalachian Basin. Following the announcement, Range Resources’ shares jumped 18%. Meanwhile, Verizon Communications raised its 2026 earnings outlook due to subscriber growth, although its shares declined amid fears of potential competition from SpaceX in the mobile service market.