Regional banks have been on a tear as of late on the prospect of lower interest rates.

The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF climbed another 2% on Monday, rallying for six days in a row and hitting its highest level since December. The advance is led by Truist, M&T Bank, Huntington, Regions Financial and Citizens.

These smaller lenders could benefit from lower funding costs and more active lending activities as rates are expected to be lower later this year.

— Yun Li, Gina Francolla

Bitcoin rallied more than $4,000 Monday after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump over the weekend raised the odds the crypto-friendly candidate will win the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

The price of the cryptocurrency last rose to $62,826.80, or more than 7% above where it closed Friday at around $58,600. On Monday, it was last higher by more than 4%.

Those gains come as betting markets suggest a higher likelihood of a Trump victory. PredictIt last showed a 67% chance of Trump beating out Biden in the 2024 election, up from 60% on Friday.

In March, Bitcoin hit a record of more than $73,000, but has since pulled back from those highs. Last week, it was retesting a key support level at $57,000.

Small-cap stocks jumped to a multiyear high Monday, in a sign that the tech-led rally is broadening out.

The Russell 2000 benchmark rose 2% Monday to hit its highest level since January 2022, led by strong gains in Humacyte, Cipher Mining, Aurora Innovation and Upstart Holdings.

The benchmark is still 10.8% below its intraday all-time high reached on Nov. 8, 2021.

— Yun Li, Gina Francolla

The Dow and S&P 500 both notched new intraday highs amid Monday’s rally.

At its highest level on Monday, the Dow added more than 300 points to 40,319.91. The S&P 500 rose around 0.9% at one point to 5,665.19.

— Alex Harring

Shares of Trump Media & Technology surged more than 33% in morning trading on Monday following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump over the weekend.

The stock is on pace for its best day since March 25, when it advanced 35.22%. It is up more than 135% this year.

The former president was rushed off stage on Saturday after he says he was grazed by a bullet at a Pennsylvania rally. Trump “will be fine,” according to his spokesman.

— Sean Conlon, Gina Francolla

Solar stocks dropped on Monday, with the Invesco Solar ETF (TAN) last down nearly 6% and on pace for its worst day since February.

The move in solar and clean energy stocks comes on the heels of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump over the weekend, and as the odds of the former president winning the November election — and a potential Republican sweep — rise. A Trump administration could undo some of President Joe Biden’s climate policies.

Sunrun was the most significant laggard in the index, shedding 14%. SolarEdge Technologies dropped 13% and announced it plans to cut 400 jobs. Sunnova Energy sank 11%, while First Solar, Enphase Energy and Canadian Solar fell at least 5% each.

The solar fund is also headed for its first negative day in six.

— Samantha Subin, Gina Francolla

While the attempted assassination of former U.S. President Donald Trump “adds a new layer of complexity” to what has already been a rocky election season, UBS does not advise traders to necessarily make changes in response to the dramatic events.

“We have said that investors should not make major portfolio swings in response to campaign developments or in anticipation of any particular election result, and that applies in this case too,” global wealth management chief investment officer Mark Haefele wrote in a Monday note.

Nonetheless, if investors are looking to reduce exposure to political uncertainty and market volatility, he underscored consumer discretionary stocks as being exposed to risk of higher import tariffs, which has been a key election issue.

“To manage potential election-related volatility, investors can use defensive structured investment strategies, such as capital preservation or yield-generating approaches for election-sensitive stocks or cyclical sectors like energy, industrials, and financials,” Haefele added.

— Hakyung Kim

The three major indexes kicked off Monday’s trading day in the green.

The Dow traded more than 200 points higher shortly after 9:30 a.m. ET. Within the first few minutes of trading, the blue-chip index had notched a fresh all-time intraday record, eclipsing the one set on Friday.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite added 0.4% and 0.5%, respectively.

— Alex Harring

Apple shares gained 2% before the bell following a slew of positive market headlines.

Loop Capital upgraded the iPhone maker to a buy from hold and lifted its price target to $300, citing its artificial intelligence potential. The firm said the company is poised to become the consumer’s “AI base camp of choice.” Morgan Stanley also named the stock a top pick, calling Apple Intelligence a “clear catalyst boost” for iPhone and iPad shipments and upping its price target.

Bloomberg News reported that the company’s India sales jumped 33% to a record $8 billion for the year ending in March, citing someone familiar with the matter.

Several stocks that can be helped by Donald Trump regaining the presidency took a leg up in Monday’s premarket.

Truth Social parent Trump Media & Technology surged nearly 50% before the bell after the former president survived an assassination attempt over the weekend.

Humana and UnitedHealth Group each gained about 2%. The insurers can benefit from less cost pressures expected from a Republican administration.

Halliburton added more than 1% amid optimism about what a Republican in the top U.S. office can mean for energy drilling policy.

— Alex Harring

Macy’s shares tumbled more than 12% after announcing that buyout talks with Arkhouse and Brigade ended.

The retailer said Monday that the proposal from the activist group “lacks certainty of financing and does not deliver compelling value.” Macy’s shares have dropped more than 5% in 2024.

— Alex Harring, Rohan Goswami

BlackRock shares gained 1.2% in premarket trading after the investment firm’s latest quarterly profit exceeded expectations.

The asset manager posted second-quarter adjusted earnings of $10.36 per share, exceeding the FactSet consensus estimate of $9.96 in earnings per share. However, revenue of $4.81 billion came in below the $4.85 billion forecast.

These are some of the stocks making the most significant moves before the bell:

• Trump Media & Technology — Shares of the Truth Social parent popped more than 50% following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on Saturday. Some have argued that the attempt could boost the odds of a Trump victory in the November election.
• Apple — Apple shares gained 2%. Loop Capital upgraded the technology giant to a buy rating, saying that its upcoming and future artificial intelligence integrations create an opportunity for the iPhone maker to become the generative AI “base camp” of choice. Bloomberg News also reported that the company’s sales in India grew 33% year over year through March to a record $8 billion.
• Super Micro Computer — Shares of Super Micro Computer, which makes graphics processing unit servers, rose 3.6% on the announcement that the company will replace pharmacy chain Walgreens Boots Alliance in the Nasdaq 100 index before the start of trading on July 22.

Read the full list of stocks on the move here.

— Samantha Subin

Saturday’s attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump will likely push stocks higher Monday and lead to a “risk-on trade,” according to Stifel.

“While political uncertainty might lead to a risk-off trade, we think investors will agree with our assessment that the attempted assassination of Donald Trump increases his odds of winning the presidential election,” chief Washington policy strategist Brian Gardner said in a Sunday note. “This could lead to a rally in the equity markets on Monday.”

Gardner noted that the scale of political boost Trump will receive remains uncertain and that Saturday’s event will also freeze the Democratic Party’s efforts to replace President Joe Biden as their party’s nominee, both factors that could also shift markets higher.

— Pia Singh

Shares of Goldman Sachs popped as much as 2% just after the bank reported it had beaten its second-quarter earnings and revenue estimates Monday morning. The stock was last trading less than 1% higher.

The bank posted earnings per share of $8.62, while analysts polled by LSEG had only expected $8.34. Goldman’s revenue of $12.73 billion was also higher than consensus forecasts of $12.46 billion. The bank also reported better-than-expected fixed income trading.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Trump Media & Technology shares soared nearly 50% in Monday premarket trading after the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump over the weekend.

Trump says he was grazed by a bullet during a Pennsylvania rally on Saturday and later released from the hospital. The gunman and one attendee are dead, while two additional attendees are in critical but stable condition.

Trump Media is the parent of social media platform Truth Social. Its ticker, DJT, is also Donald Trump’s initials.

— Alex Harring

Stock futures increased their overnight gains with Dow Jones Industrial average futures last up about 200 points. Tesla and Humana were early market leaders.

— John Melloy