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July 20, 2026 - 14:33
5 minutes
(Bloomberg) — Stocks are getting a lift from a rebound in chipmakers at the start of a week in which Big Tech earnings will help determine whether recent volatility persists or momentum returns. Oil swung between gains to losses.Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.9% to snap a three-day streak of losses. S&P 500 contracts climbed 0.4%. An exchange-traded fund tracking chipmakers bounced 2.5% in premarket trading. In Hong Kong, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. rallied after releasing a preview of its latest flagship artificial-intelligence model.In commodity markets, traders weighed reports of a proposal for a new US-Iranian ceasefire against a possible maritime ban on Saudi Arabia by Yemeni Houthis.A series of weekend attacks between Washington and Tehran initially fueled gains before US crude reversed course to near $82.60 a barrel.Investors “still think the US and Iran will go back to the negotiation table,” said Joachim Klement, head of strategy at Panmure Liberum. “Only once the US is no longer willing to negotiate do we expect markets to price higher oil prices for longer.”Traders continued to sort out the possible winners and losers from Chinese startup Moonshot AI’s latest breakthrough, a model that it says delivers performance rivaling top-tier US platforms at a fraction of the cost. While it uses computing resources more efficiently, it still requires vast amounts of memory to operate.Alphabet Inc. will kick off quarterly earnings from AI hyperscalers on Wednesday. The report comes at a time when chip stocks, the S&P 500’s biggest driver of 2026, have entered a bear market over worries that the likes of Alphabet won’t sustain vast outlays on the global buildout of AI infrastructure.“This week, we wait for the hyperscalers to report and especially pay attention to their monetization efforts and their capex intentions,” said Andrea Gabellone, head of global equities at KBC Securities. “This could calm the market.”Bond yields rose in the US and Europe. The risk of price pressure emanating from the conflict came into view as US gasoline prices climbed back above the $4-a-gallon mark at the pump.The dollar wavered. European stocks climbed 0.1%, while a benchmark for Asian equities dipped 0.2%. The mostly modest cross-asset moves were also evident in gold and Bitcoin.“The sentiment among investors remains positively biased, despite the setbacks in the tech space last week,” said Panmure Liberum’s Klement. “This bodes well for renewed market stability this week.”What Bloomberg Strategists Say:“While today’s headlines look more constructive, US-Iran negotiations have been moving in the wrong direction for weeks. Transit through the Strait of Hormuz has ground to a halt and energy infrastructure has come under attack. That’s set to weigh on bonds.”— Skylar Montgomery Koning, macro strategist. Click here for the analysis.Corporate Highlights:Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. shares rose as much as 5.4% on Monday after the company launched a preview version of its flagship Qwen3.8 Max model, describing it as second only to Anthropic PBC’s Fable 5. Moonshot AI has told investors it’s preparing to list in as early as six months, seizing the opportunity to tap capital markets after its latest model upended industry perceptions of China’s artificial intelligence capabilities and sent tech stocks reeling. Sandwich chain Jersey Mike’s Subs Inc. and its shareholders are looking to raise as much as $1.09 billion in an initial public offering, as consumer-oriented companies join the US listing rebound. Bristol Myers Squibb Co. is expanding its partnership with Nvidia Corp. to boost the computing power of an AI factory that the drugmaker say it’s using to create new medicines more quickly. Prysmian SpA signed a deal worth as much €5.5 billion ($6.3 billion) with Koch Inc.’s Molex to supply optical cables to data centers, tapping into the surge in investment in artificial-intelligence infrastructure. Some of the main moves in markets:StocksS&P 500 futures rose 0.4% as of 8:30 a.m. New York time Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.9% Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.2% The MSCI World Index was little changed CurrenciesThe Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro fell 0.2% to $1.1419 The British pound was little changed at $1.3451 The Japanese yen was little changed at 162.41 per dollar CryptocurrenciesBitcoin rose 0.3% to $64,660.59 Ether rose 0.6% to $1,877.22 BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 4.56% Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 3.13% Britain’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 4.97% CommoditiesWest Texas Intermediate crude was little changed Spot gold was little changed This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
