NEW YORK — The U.S. stock market rallied to its best day since April on Monday, November 9, clawing back most of last week's big loss as oil prices swung sharply lower. The S&P 500 jumped 2.3 percent for a second straight gain, the Dow Jones Industrial Average leaped more than 1,100 points, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 2.7 percent — a broad advance that came even though Nvidia, one of Wall Street's most influential stocks, sank 5.4 percent under the weight of its own board investigation.
Despite its manic recent swings, the S&P 500 — the main measure of Wall Street's strength — now sits just 3.4 percent below the all-time high it set last month. Monday's gain followed Friday's advance, and together the two sessions recovered most of the wipeout that hit stocks last week, when investors dumped shares on worries that Democratic victories in the midterm elections could lead to a slowdown in the construction of AI data centers.
Source: Associated Press (Nov. 9, 2026)
Oil did the heavy lifting
Stocks broadly got a lift from the falling price of oil. Brent crude dropped 5.8 percent to $92.57 a barrel by the close, extending a slide from more than $112 at the start of the month amid uncertainty about the war with Iran. The latest leg lower came after President Donald Trump told CNN over the weekend that a resumption of strikes is “highly unlikely” if the United States sees progress in negotiations — though Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that Iranian demands for ending the war had sometimes been “outrageous and ridiculous.” Companies with big fuel bills helped lead Wall Street on expectations that costs may not be as bad as feared: United Airlines flew 5.9 percent higher, and cruise operator Carnival rose 4 percent.
Source: Associated Press (Nov. 9, 2026)
The AI trade came back — except its biggest name
Several strong profit reports from big U.S. companies also helped lift the market. Constellation Energy climbed 10.3 percent after the power company reported profit and revenue for the summer that topped analysts' expectations; it has been benefiting from deals announced recently to power data centers for Big Tech companies. Other stocks linked to the AI build-out also did better on Monday: Advanced Micro Devices rose 12.9 percent to recover some of its 11 percent loss from last week, and CoreWeave climbed 5.1 percent after tumbling 15.4 percent last week.
The exception was the stock that became the face of the AI boom. Nvidia fell 5.4 percent after the chip company said it is investigating its CEO, Jensen Huang, after he acknowledged an intimate relationship with a business executive who, according to The New York Times, U.S. intelligence determined was gathering information for China. Nvidia's board said it has “no reason to believe” that either national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised, but that its inquiry would examine all available information. Guo Jiakun, spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, called the allegations “nothing but smears against China.”
Source: Associated Press (Nov. 9, 2026)
Data centers — and the blame they are getting from voters for increases in power bills — have come under increased scrutiny following Democratic victories in statehouses across the country in last week's election. The worry is that governments could impose restrictions on the industry, which would mean fewer purchases of AI chips, electricity and other products and services around the AI boom. That sat on top of worries already rattling the industry that further data-center construction may slow because of how expensive it has become to borrow money — and, before that, critics saying AI stock prices had shot too high and were in a bubble. (AP)
Bonds, the fear gauge, and markets abroad
In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady following big moves last week. The yield on the 10-year Treasury inched up to 4.88 percent from 4.86 percent late Friday. It remains well below a peak above 5.30 percent that it reached last month, when it touched its highest level in two decades on worries about high inflation and the U.S. government's big debt, among other things; the pullback in yields over the last month has helped rates for mortgages and other kinds of loans ease. Wall Street's fear gauge, the VIX, fell back below 20 to 19.92, according to market-data reports. In stock markets abroad, indexes were stronger in Japan, where the Nikkei 225 jumped 2.3 percent, and in Europe, where France's CAC 40 rose 1.2 percent; stocks rose 0.3 percent in Shanghai and dipped 0.1 percent in Hong Kong.
Source: Associated Press; market-data reports (Nov. 9, 2026)
What it means for working readers
For Punjabi and other working families in the United States, Monday's two drivers cut in familiar directions. Cheaper oil, if it holds, eases the fuel-cost pressure that runs through trucking, farming and every delivered good — the same pressure that made diesel and freight rates a kitchen-table issue all autumn. And a market sitting 3.4 percent below its record high is the market in which most workers' retirement savings sit. Neither comes with a guarantee: the S&P 500 has swung violently for two weeks, and one good Monday has repeatedly been followed by a reversal this season.
What happens next
The rally gets its first real test on Tuesday morning, when the Labor Department releases the October consumer price index at 8:30 a.m. Eastern — the last inflation reading before the Federal Reserve's December meeting. A hot print would revive the borrowing-cost worries that helped sink stocks last week; a cool one would let the oil-led recovery run. Nvidia, meanwhile, reports earnings on November 17, with its board's investigation still open.