10 Firms Begin Trading Week With Impressive Gains

The stock market kicked off the trading week on a positive note, with all major indices clocking in gains, as investors brushed off President Donald Trump’s latest imposition of hefty tariffs on steel and aluminum products from Canada and Mexico.

The Dow Jones rose 0.38 percent, the S&P 500 grew 0.67 percent, while the Nasdaq rallied 0.98 percent.

Ten companies mirrored a broader market optimism amid a series of positive catalysts sparking buying appetite.

In this article, we will take a look at which companies led the charge and explore the reasons behind their performance.

To come up with Monday’s best performers, we considered only the stocks with at least $2 billion in market capitalization and $5 million in daily trading volume.

Stock market charts. Photo by Kaboompics.com on Pexels

10. Aurora Innovation Inc. (NASDAQ:AUR)

Aurora Innovation rose for a second day on Monday, adding 8.33 percent to its valuation to close at $7.80 apiece as investors repositioned their portfolios ahead of its earnings announcement on February 12.

For the fourth quarter of 2024, analysts project AUR to post between 11 to 12 cents loss per share, an improvement from the 13 cents loss per share registered in the same period a year earlier.

For full year 2024, analysts expect the company to register between 44 and 47 cents loss per share.

Meanwhile, investors will be looking out for any cues on the company’s much-awaited Aurora Driver, which it plans to launch in Texas in April 2025. The Aurora Driver, enabled by Verifiable AI, quickly adapts to new operating domains while being validated through Aurora’s Safety Case. It is equipped with a powerful computer and sensors, including lidar, radar, and cameras, enabling it to safely operate at highway speeds.

9. GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME)

GameStop shares rallied by 9.66 percent on Monday to finish at $27.12 apiece as investors reacted positively to a photo of GME CEO Ryan Cohen and Strategy Chairman Michael Saylor.

While the photo did not mention any reason why Cohen sat down with Saylor, investors were quick to speculate a brewing cryptocurrency strategy between the two companies.

It can be learned that the gaming company had already ventured into cryptocurrency in 2022 with the establishment of a now-defunct cryptocurrency wallet that sent its share prices skyrocketing for days after the launch.

Just recently, reports also surged of GME closing several stores in the US, often with little to no warning. Since 2020 alone, GME has been shutting down more than 700 stores as the COVID-19 pandemic heavily weighed on its profits, further aggravated by a shift in consumption to online sales and video game makers resorting to digital-only access to games.