Small Caps Rally As Credit Fears Ease, Gold Rebounds To $4,350: What's Moving Markets Monday?

Wall Street kicked off the week on a strong footing, led by a rebound in small-cap stocks and regional banks, easing some of the credit-driven anxiety that shook markets last week.

The Russell 2000 Index climbed 1.8% on Monday, outperforming large caps, as the SPDR Regional Banking ETF (NYSE:KRE) rose 2%, extending Friday's 1.6% gain.

The recovery comes after KRE plunged 6.2% on Thursday, its worst single-day drop since April, following fresh credit concerns tied to regional lenders.

Large-cap benchmarks also posted solid gains. The Nasdaq 100 advanced 1.4% to 25,155, just shy of its all-time high of 25,195 set on Oct. 10. The S&P 500 gained 1.1% to 6,733, now within 0.5% of its record, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1% to 46,630.

Investor attention now turns to a packed earnings calendar. Key reports are due this week from Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA), Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC), and International Business Machines Inc. (NYSE:IBM), along with industrial heavyweights GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE), GE Vernova (NYSE:GEV), Raytheon Technologies Corp. (NYSE:RTX) and T-Mobile US Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS).

Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) was the top gainer in the S&P 500, jumping over 7%, after announcing that new data on two investigational flu vaccines will be presented at IDWeek 2025, running from Oct. 19–22 in Atlanta.

On the flip side, Seagate Technology Holdings plc (NASDAQ:STX)—up 145% year-to-date and one of the index's best performers—was Monday's biggest loser, as profit-taking pressure that began earlier this month continued to weigh on the stock.

Gold prices rebounded 2.3% to $4,350, fully recovering Friday's 1.8% pullback and pushing further into record territory amid ongoing macro uncertainty.

The biggest surprise came from natural gas, with Henry Hub prices surging over 11% to $3.34, driven by a combination of colder weather forecasts and aggressive short covering.

Meanwhile, oil extended its slide. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 0.8% to $56.70 a barrel, inching closer to April lows of $55.10, the weakest level since February 2021, as surplus concerns continued to pressure the energy market.

Monday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) rose 1.1% to $617.46.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) rose 1.1% to $466.64.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series (NASDAQ:QQQ) soared 1.4% to $612.33.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) rallied 1.8% to $247.83.
• The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLK) outperformed, up 1.4%; the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLU) lagged, down 0.3%.

Stocks scheduled to report earnings after the close include W.R. Berkley Corp. (NYSE:WRB), Crown Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CCK), AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC), Wintrust Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:WTFC), Zions Bancorporation (NASDAQ:ZION), BOK Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:BOKF), Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF), and Cadence Bank (NYSE:BXS).

S&P 500’s Top 5 Gainers On Monday

S&P 500’s Top 5 Losers On Monday

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Image created using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.