The Dow surges 325 points as Big Tech recovers but Tesla sinks

The Dow Jones Industrial average surged more than 450 points on Monday afternoon before closing up 253 points — never mind Tesla’s still-bumpy ride after Elon Musk’s EV maker laid off more than 10% of its staff and slashed prices all over the world. Tesla stock continued its slide ahead of Tuesday’s closely watched earnings report.

But AI chipmaker Nvidia bounced back from last week’s steep decline and was among the top performers Monday. Other big tech stocks also rose, including Amazon and Salesforce. MicroStrategy, Coinbase, and other crypto stocks surged following the Bitcoin “halving” event.

Other companies reporting results in a busy earnings week include Microsoft, Facebook parent Meta, and Google parent Alphabet.

Meanwhile, with inflation still elevated, the Federal Reserve is holding off on cutting interest rates.

By the end of the day, the Dow was up 254 points, or about 0.6%, to 38,240. The tech-heavy Nasdaq popped 1.1% and the S&P 500 rose 0.8%.

Tesla stock drops as Elon Musk cuts prices again

Tesla has cut prices across several of its major markets — including China, Germany, and the U.S. — to combat slowing demand for electric vehicles ahead of a major earnings report due Tuesday.

Earlier this month, Tesla reported its first quarterly year-over-year sales decline since 2020. The Austin, Texas-based automaker sold 10% less Model 3 compact cars and Model SUVs, which make up the majority of its deliveries.

​​“Tesla prices must change frequently in order to match production with demand,” Musk said Sunday on X.

Moreover, Tesla laid off 20% of its workforce, and more than 20,000 people may have been affected by the layoffs than previously believed.

Tesla stock was down 3.4% by the end of the day. The stock is down more than 42% so far this year, making Tesla one of the worst performers in the S&P 500

Nvidia stock recovers, Super Micro Computer faces more struggle

Last Friday saw a big jolt for AI stocks, after Super Micro Computer announced it would not pre-announce earnings and that it would report fiscal third-quarter results on April 30. ​The stock fell more than 23% and helped drag down other AI stocks, including Nvidia and Micron Technology.

Nvidia stock recovered somewhat from Friday’s selloff and was among the top performers in the S&P 500, gaining about 4.3% by closing time. Super Micro Computer was down early Monday but it recovered slightly in the late-afternoon.

Crypto stocks soar after Bitcoin ‘halving’

Cryptocurrency-related stocks surged on Monday afternoon after Bitcoin underwent a successful “halving” over the weekend. As of right now, Bitcoin is trading at a solid $66,000, following the modest rise it experienced post-halving.

MicroStrategy stock jumped 12.7% by the end of the day. The business intelligence company, co-founded by Bitcoin-maximalist Michael Saylor, holds 174,530 Bitcoin worth $4.6 billion and is expected to buy more soon.

Verizon and AT&T in the red

In its latest earnings report, Verizon posted slightly increased revenue but missed Wall Street expectations due to fewer postpaid phone losses being offset by higher plan prices. The wireless carrier recorded a net income of $4.72 billion or $1.09 per share during the first quarter, compared to $5.02 billion or $1.17 per share in the previous year.

Verizon stock was down 4.6% after the markets closed, making it one of the S&P 500’s biggest losers of the day. AT&T stock also dropped about 1.2%.

–William Gavin contributed to this article.

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