Nasdaq Composite Climbs Nearly 0.6% Monday as Semiconductor Stocks Rebound Ahead of Earnings Season

The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.59%, or 149.70 points, to 25,669.95 Monday morning, as semiconductor stocks staged a rebound following a volatile week of losses and investors positioned themselves ahead of a pivotal stretch of Big Tech earnings reports later this week.

Broader U.S. markets moved higher in tandem with the tech-heavy index. The S&P 500 added roughly 0.5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up about 0.3%, according to Monday morning trading data. Oil prices eased somewhat after briefly touching $90 a barrel over the weekend amid continued exchanges of military strikes between the United States and Iran, providing an additional source of relief for equity markets that have remained sensitive to swings in energy prices throughout the summer.

Chip stocks recover after a difficult week

Monday’s advance followed a bruising stretch for semiconductor shares, which had come under significant pressure last week amid renewed concerns about the sustainability of the elevated valuations that have accompanied the broader artificial intelligence investment boom. The Nasdaq had dropped 1.4% to 25,520.24 on Friday alone, while the Dow fell 406.55 points, or 0.77%, as chip and technology stocks came under intense scrutiny to close out the week. The S&P 500 finished Friday’s session down 1.01% at 7,457.69, and all three major indexes posted weekly losses, with the Nasdaq’s 2.9% decline standing out as the sharpest among them.

That selloff had been fueled in part by the debut of a new artificial intelligence model from Chinese startup Moonshot, which the company said performs on par with leading offerings from established Western AI developers, intensifying broader questions about whether current spending levels on AI infrastructure can be justified by near-term returns. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF fell more than 4% during that stretch, reflecting the scale of investor anxiety weighing on chip-related names heading into the new trading week.

A familiar pattern of sharp rotations

Monday’s rebound continues what has become a recurring pattern throughout 2026, in which chip and AI infrastructure stocks have repeatedly swung between sharp selloffs and equally sharp recoveries as investors continually reassess the durability of the sector’s underlying growth story. Earlier this month, the Nasdaq Composite surged 1.30% in a single session, climbing to 26,206.89, in a rally driven by broad-based buying across chip manufacturers, equipment makers and semiconductor companies following a prior period of pressure tied to valuation concerns.

That earlier rally was also supported by comments from President Donald Trump that investors interpreted as more conciliatory toward a diplomatic resolution with Iran, even as both countries continued exchanging military strikes at the time. Advanced Micro Devices surged more than 7% during that session, while Broadcom gained more than 3%, and the iShares Semiconductor ETF climbed more than 5%, illustrating how sensitive chip stocks have remained to both geopolitical developments and shifting sentiment around the broader AI trade throughout the year.

Big Tech earnings loom as the next major catalyst

With Monday’s gains extending into the start of a new trading week, attention across Wall Street is increasingly focused on a wave of earnings reports expected from major technology companies in the coming days. Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta and Amazon are among the companies scheduled to report results, with investors paying particularly close attention to capital expenditure guidance tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure spending, a factor that market strategists have identified as more consequential to stock reactions this earnings season than whether companies simply beat or miss consensus estimates.

That dynamic has already played out repeatedly in recent weeks, with more than 86% of S&P 500 companies that have reported results so far this earnings season beating analyst expectations, even as markets have continued to sell off shares in many of those companies regardless of the headline beat. Strategists have pointed to guidance and capital spending commentary, rather than backward-looking earnings figures, as the more decisive factor shaping investor reactions during this particular stretch of the reporting season.

A record-setting first half followed by turbulence

Monday’s advance comes against the backdrop of what has otherwise been an exceptionally strong, if volatile, year for the Nasdaq Composite. The index climbed 12.8% during the first half of 2026 alone, one of its strongest such performances in recent years, driven substantially by sustained investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure. That rally has not been without significant interruptions, however, with the index having fallen more than 2% in single sessions on multiple occasions this year amid periodic rotations out of richly valued technology names.

Geopolitical risk remains a persistent backdrop

Beyond the earnings-driven catalysts shaping this week’s trading, the ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran continues to represent a meaningful source of uncertainty for broader market sentiment. Oil prices have fluctuated sharply in recent weeks in response to escalating and, at times, easing tensions between the two countries, with any signs of renewed diplomatic engagement tending to provide at least temporary relief to both energy markets and the broader equity market’s risk appetite.

With chip stocks rebounding Monday and a critical stretch of Big Tech earnings reports set to begin later this week, market participants are likely to remain focused on capital expenditure guidance and broader commentary regarding the durability of AI-related demand as the key factors determining whether this week’s gains prove durable or give way to renewed volatility. At the same time, developments in the U.S.-Iran conflict are expected to continue shaping oil prices and broader risk sentiment, keeping markets attentive to geopolitical headlines alongside the corporate earnings calendar in the days ahead.