The stock market began the trading week on a mixed note as investors continued to digest President Donald Trump’s new tariff agenda, with all economies expecting to be hit by import taxes.
Among all major indices, only the Nasdaq registered losses, down 0.14 percent. In contrast, the Dow Jones jumped by 1 percent while the S&P 500 grew by 0.55 percent.
Despite the broader market downturn, 10 individual stocks stood their ground, finishing the day in the green amid a flurry of fresh corporate developments that boosted investor appetite.
In this article, we named Monday’s top performers and detailed the reasons behind their gains.
To come up with the list, we considered only the stocks with a $2 billion market capitalization and $5 million in trading volume.
Stock market data on a laptop screen. Photo by Alesia Kozik on Pexels
10. Warner Bros Discovery Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD)
Warner Bros saw its share prices grow by 3.47 percent on Monday to finish at $10.73 apiece as investors cheered news that it was officially replacing studio heads Mike de Luca and Pam Abdy following a series of box office flops.
According to a report by Bloomberg, WBD Chief Executive Officer David Zaslav is in talks with potential successors to de Luca and Abdy which triggered the box office failures of “Alto Knights,” “Mickey 17” and “Joker: Folie à Deux,” with the latter raking in only around $200 million following the first Joker’s $1 billion revenues.
De Luca and Abdy were expected to present Warner Bros’ upcoming film slate at the CinemaCon on Tuesday, where they were expected to roll out an ambitious 2025 that included pricey bets on filmmakers such as Paul Thomas Anderson and Ryan Coogler, as well as a DC reboot with James Gunn’s “Superman.”
9. The Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (NYSE:IPG)
Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies rose by 3.31 percent on Monday to close at $27.16 apiece as investors resorted to bargain-hunting after being just 5 percent shy of its 52-week low.
IPG, a marketing and communications holding company, touched a 52-week intra-day low of $25.85 on March 18 and closed at its lowest price of $25.93 last Monday.
Its share performance was further dragged by a pessimistic outlook for the advertising agency this year due to a lack of economic visibility and a decline in consumer confidence that could drag marketing and advertising budgets over the short-term period.
IPG research unit Magna revised its US ads forecast on Wednesday, saying that it now expects US ad sales to rise by only 4.3 percent year-on-year to $397 billion as compared with 4.9 percent in 2025.
8. Fox Corporation (NASDAQ:FOX)
Fox Corp. grew its share prices by 3.42 percent on Monday to end at $56.60 apiece as investors bought up on news that it attracted 125 new blue-chip advertising companies since the US election.
In a news interview, FOX President for Ad Sales Jeff Collins said: “Historically, after an election, networks will see ratings dips. When we saw an acceleration in ratings, we saw new advertisers coming in.”
More advertisers are now joining the network after suffering a pullback in 2018 following a comment from its former host Tucker Carlson about immigrants making the US “poorer and dirtier” that spurred huge advertisers such as T-Mobile to pull ads from his program.
Consumer goods company Procter & Gamble also stopped running ads during Carlson’s nightly show but returned to the same slot in 2023 when he was ousted from Fox.
According to Collins, the network is partly benefiting from a decline in the more expansive traditional television universe, with audiences preferring online.
7. American International Group Inc. (NYSE:IAG)
American International grew its share prices by 3.97 percent on Monday to end at $86.94 each following news that it would kick off a $7.5-billion share repurchase program.
On Monday, AIG said its board of directors authorized the buyback of common shares, which includes approximately $3.4 billion remaining from the previous authorization.
In addition to the buyback, AIG hosted an Investor Day on the same day where it outlined its ambitious targets of hitting operating earnings per share (EPS) Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of more than 20 percent between 2025 and 2027, indicating its confidence about its future performance.
In addition, it expects core operating Return on Equity (ROE) to settle between 10 and 13 percent during the same period.
Lastly, AIG said it plans to raise its dividend payout at a 10-percent CAGR for this year and the next.
6. Harmony Gold Mining Company Ltd. (NYSE:HMY)
Harmony Gold extended its winning streak for a third day on Monday, adding 5.05 percent to close at $14.77 apiece as investors gobbled up shares after prices of gold hit a new record high.
On Monday, the spot prices of gold cracked past the $3,100 level for the first time as concerns about US President Donald Trump’s more aggressive tariff stance drove investor funds to safer assets such as gold and spilled over to gold mining stocks.
Optimistic outlooks for the precious metal further added to the sentiment, with Goldman Sachs expecting gold to soar to the $4,500 level over the next 12 months amid extreme market conditions.
Meanwhile, Bank of America raised its average gold price targets for this year and the next to $3,063 per ounce this year and $3,350 per ounce in 2026.
The new figures were markedly up from its previous forecasts of $2,750 per ounce for 2025 and $2,625 per ounce for 2026.
Earlier this year, HMY announced that its net income in the first semester grew by 33 percent to R7.9 billion from R5.96 billion in the same period a year earlier, as revenues rose by 18 percent to R37.1 billion from R31.4 billion, with gold revenues contributing to total revenue growth, increasing 19 percent to R35.4 million from R29.7 million.
5. XPeng Inc. (NYSE:XPEV)
XPeng snapped a seven-day losing streak on Monday, rising 5.18 percent to close at $20.72 apiece as investors resorted to bargain-hunting to take advantage of its cheap valuation.
In recent news, XPEV opened a new technology center in Hong Kong to showcase its mobility innovations powered by Artificial Intelligence.
Called XPENG Tech Center, the new facility displays robots powered by AI self-developed chips and other cutting-edge technologies.
“Through this new space, we hope to bring them closer to [XPEV]’s innovations, from autonomous driving to intelligent cockpit technology and our future mobility solutions such as AI chips and humanoid robots. With the launch of the X9 in Hong Kong, we look forward to providing a more intelligent and seamless driving experience while leveraging the city’s global connectivity to support XPENG’s broader international development,” said XPEV Vice Chairman and President Brian Gu.
4. Celsius Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CELH)
Shares of Celsius Holdings jumped by 5.85 percent on Monday to end at $35.62 apiece as investor sentiment was fueled by an investment research firm’s rating upgrade for the company.
On the same day, analysts from Truist raised CELH’s stock rating to Buy from Hold previously, saying that the company is capable of cornering the women’s market. It also markedly raised its price target for the company to $45 from $10 previously.
According to Truist, its rating upgrade was supported by CELH’s acquisition of the Alani Nu brand, which used to cannibalize its sales. It said it expects the deal to help investors look past the company’s challenges in 2024 and the start of 2025.
CELH posted an impressive stock performance last week, helped by PepsiCo’s move to expand its healthy drinks category.
PepsiCo, which owns a significant stake in CELH, recently entered into an agreement to acquire prebiotic soda brand Poppi for $2 billion. The news dribbled into CELH, which produces a range of fitness and energy beverages under the brand Celsius.
3. United Microelectronics Corp. (NYSE:UMC)
United Microelectronics jumped by 9.16 percent on Monday to end at $7.15 apiece as investors cheered news that it is potentially merging with GlobalFoundries Inc.
According to a report by Nikkei, citing news privy to the matter, the merger would see the establishment of a new US company with production capabilities in the US, Asia, and Europe and potentially become an alternative to Taiwan Semiconductor.
Additionally, the new company would aim to secure American access amid potential risks from China competition and tensions between the mainland and Taiwan.
Nikkei said that UMC had previously set sights on either buying or building production plants in the US, but later axed the plan due to costs.
UMC is a Taiwan-based company and the country’s first semiconductor firm, as the result of a spin-off of the government’s Industrial Technology Research Institute.
2. Mr. Cooper Group Inc. (NASDAQ:COOP)
Mr. Cooper saw its share prices surge by 14.46 percent on Monday to finish at $119.6 apiece following Rocket Companies Inc.’s (NYSE:RKT) announcement that it would acquire the company for $9.4 billion.
In a statement, RKT said it was set to buy COOP in an all-stock transaction in a bid to accelerate its AI-powered platform and remove the friction and complexities plaguing today’s homebuying process.
“Servicing is a critical pillar of homeownership—alongside home search and mortgage origination. With the right data and AI infrastructure we will deliver the right products at the right time. That’s how we build lifelong relationships, by proactively unlocking benefits and meeting needs before they arise. We look forward to welcoming Mr. Cooper’s nearly 7 million clients,” said RKT CEO Varun Krishna.
COOP followed RKT’s acquisition of Redfin for $1.75 billion.
1. Corcept Therapeutics Incorporated (NASDAQ:CORT)
Corcept Therapeutics soared by 109.08 percent on Monday to end at $114.22 apiece as investors cheered impressive results of its phase 3 trial for ovarian cancer treatment.
According to the company, the trial met its primary endpoint for its ROSELLA treatment, having seen a 30-percent reduction in the risk of disease progression to patients treated with relacorilant in addition to nab-paclitaxel chemotherapy.
“The improvement in survival seen in ROSELLA, without an increased safety burden, brings us closer to delivering a new standard-of-care treatment for patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer,” said CORT Chief Development Officer Bill Guyer. “We deeply appreciate the patients and investigators who participated in the trial, and we look forward to presenting the trial’s full results in the coming months.”
CORT said it expects to submit a new drug application in the third quarter of the year.
While we acknowledge the potential of CORT as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as CORT but trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.
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