(Image credit: Getty Images)
Stocks opened up and stayed in the green throughout a relatively quiet trading session. Major names in multiple sectors are set to report results, and markets are eager to hear what Fed Chair Jerome Powell has to say at the conclusion of this week’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting.
It’s a mostly Magnificent 7 week on the earnings calendar, with Meta Platforms (META), Microsoft (MSFT) and Tesla (TSLA) scheduled to report on Wednesday and Apple (AAPL) up on Thursday. Alphabet (GOOGL) will report on February 4, Amazon.com (AMZN) on February 5.
Nvidia (NVDA) won’t report fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter results until February 25. But the leader of the AI boom still figured prominently in today’s price action, most directly on the share price of one of the hottest initial public offerings (IPOs) of 2025.
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more – straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice – straight to your e-mail.
Meanwhile, there’s another force lurking on this week’s economic calendar. “Following a tumultuous week for financial markets,” Deutsche Bank Senior U.S. Economist Brett Ryan writes, “investors will focus intently on Wednesday’s FOMC meeting.”
As Ryan notes, things beyond interest rates and GDP growth have the market’s attention: “Given recent events, Powell’s presser is likely to focus on some non-economic issues – e.g., the recent DoJ subpoena, Governor Cook’s case, who will be the next Fed chair, and whether Powell might remain on the Board.”
In addition to a steady target range for the federal funds rate at 3.50% to 3.75%, the economist expects Fed Chair Jerome Powell to say policy is “well positioned” as it has entered a plausible range of neutral. He might also sound somewhat more sanguine on the labor market, while still emphasizing downside risks.”
We’re following news and developments around the FOMC meeting, which begins on Tuesday and ends on Wednesday, on our live Fed blog. According to CME FedWatch, investors, traders and speculators are 97.2% certain the Fed won’t make a move this week.
At the closing bell on Monday, the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.4% to 23,601 on great tech expectations, the S&P 500 had added 0.5% to 6,950, rising to within 50 points of 7,000, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was higher by 0.6% to 49,412, 222 points from a new all-time high.
CRWV stock gets even hotter
Nvidia bought approximately 23 million shares of CRWV stock at $87.20 per share. “The investment reflects Nvidia’s confidence in CoreWeave’s business, team and growth strategy as a cloud platform built on Nvidia infrastructure,” Nvidia and CoreWeave said in a joint statement.
Management notes the deal will help CoreWeave accelerate its project to build “AI factories” with total capacity of more than five gigawatts by 2030. CRWV was up more than 79% in 2025 and has extended its post-IPO run by another 37% so far in 2026.
Check your energy levels
Indeed, energy stocks rallied for another positive close after rising 3.1% last week and generating the best performance among the 11 S&P 500 sectors, LPL Financial Chief Technical Strategist Adam Turnquist writes, as Haliburton (HAL), Kinder Morgan (KMI) and SLB (SLB) reported solid earnings.
Looking for more timely stock market news to help gauge the health of your portfolio? Sign up for Closing Bell, our free newsletter that’s delivered straight to your inbox at the close of each trading day.
As Turnquist notes, “Underlying commodity strength provided an additional tailwind.” Natural gas futures surged 70% amid rising heating demand ahead of a massive winter storm in the U.S. Cold weather also put a freeze on crude oil production in the Bakken and Permian basins.
“Geopolitical developments added to the bullish tone for energy,” the analyst explains, citing fading hopes for a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine as well as the Trump administration’s mobilization of military assets in response to internal unrest in Iran.
