Biggest stock movers Monday: NVDA, DJT, and more

Stock futures were trading cautiously Monday morning, searching for direction ahead of a pivotal week marked by the highly anticipated U.S. presidential election and a packed earnings schedule.

Here are some of Monday’s biggest stock movers:

Biggest stock gainers

• Nvidia (NVDA) shares rose over 3% after the S&P Dow Jones Indices announced the chipmaker would replace Intel in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, highlighting Nvidia’s strong market momentum amid soaring demand for AI products and services. With a market cap of $3.32T, Nvidia now ranks as the world’s second-most valuable public company, just behind Apple’s $3.39T. Nvidia’s stock has more than doubled in 2024. The company is also reportedly in talks with Elon Musk about investing in his AI startup, xAI, which could reach a $75B valuation in an upcoming funding round. According to the Wall Street Journal, xAI’s valuation recently jumped to $45B from $24B earlier this year.
• Viking Therapeutics (VKTX) shares surged 24% on promising early results for its experimental obesity pill, VK2735, which showed increased weight loss at higher doses. Patients on a 100-milligram dose lost 8.2% of their body weight over 28 days, outperforming the placebo group by 6.8%, as presented at the Obesity Week meeting on Sunday. Notably, no patients on the highest dose discontinued the treatment, and 92 participants in total were administered various doses in the study.

Biggest stock losers

• B. Riley Financial (RILY) shares plunged over 16% after it announced the sale of a portion of its traditional (W-2) Wealth Management business to Stifel Financial for an estimated $27M to $35M in cash. This move aligns with B. Riley’s strategy to refocus on its core middle market financial services. The transaction, which has board approval and awaits regulatory clearance, is anticipated to close in early Q2 2025. The deal excludes B. Riley’s network of 190 independent advisors and 90 tax professionals, with final consideration based on the number of advisors transitioning to Stifel. Expected to transition are 40 to 50 advisors, representing assets under management of around $3.5B to $4.5B as of September 30, 2024.
• Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) shares fell over 7% after a volatile week characterized by multiple trading halts and significant price swings just days before the presidential election, impacting Trump’s net worth considerably. The owner of Truth Social experienced a 13.5% drop in its stock price on Friday, following an 11.7% decline on Thursday and a staggering 22.3% plunge on Wednesday—marking the company’s worst one-day loss since its public debut in March.