SOXL, the Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X ETF, surged an astonishing 11.6% on Monday. It was a good day for most stocks with the Dow closing up .5% and the S&P 500 closing up .83%.
Yet, it was a great day across semiconductor stocks. NVIDIA (NVDA) closed up 2.68%, Broadcom (AVG) was up 4.62%. Non-levered ETFs also saw strong gains. The widely followed VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) closed the day up 3.6%. Let’s look at why today went from deep in the red at the market’s open to piling on massive gains across the semiconductor space.
Bouncing Back from Recent Volatility
The rally isn’t coming out of nowhere. Semiconductor companies have been delivering the kind of earnings results that remind investors why this sector commands a premium.
NVIDIA set the tone most recently, posting Q4 FY2026 revenue of $68.13 billion, up 73.2% year over year, with Data Center revenue alone hitting $62.31 billion, up 75% year over year. CEO Jensen Huang framed the moment clearly: “The agentic AI inflection point has arrived.” That kind of language, backed by a Q1 FY2027 guidance of approximately $78 billion, is extremely bullish even if shares fell in the following days. NVIDIA is about 18% of VanEck’s holdings.
Broadcom added fuel. The company reported Q1 FY2026 AI chip revenue of $8.4 billion, up 106% year over year, with CEO Hock Tan stating simply: “AI revenue growth is accelerating.” Micron piled on with a significant earnings beat and management noting they expect “business performance to continue strengthening through fiscal 2026.” Best of all, Broadcom pointed to strong visbility into 2027. Days after their report, Marvell (MRVL) announced their earnings and also raised guidance for Fiscal 2027.
The key story here: while NVIDIA’s numbers were great, momentum has been building across the semiconductor space throughout earnings season. With the VanEck Semiconductor ETF having sold off across the past month, the rebound in stocks today led many investors to pile money back into a sector that had taken a recent beating and has had the most promising headlines across earnings season.
ETFs Follow the Sector Higher
Non-leveraged funds moved meaningfully today as well. SMH closed at $394.37, up $13.81 on the session, a gain of roughly 3.6%. SOXX closed at $336.37, up $12.86, or about 4.0%. SOXL’s outsized 11.6% move reflects the math of 3x leverage applied to that underlying sector move.
Key Holdings at a Glance
| Stock | Company | Current Price | Today’s Move | YTD Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NVDA | NVIDIA | $182.65 | +2.72% | -2.06% |
| TSM | Taiwan Semiconductor | $348.70 | +2.89% | +14.77% |
| AVGO | Broadcom | $345.75 | +4.62% | -0.10% |
| MU | Micron Technology | $389.32 | +5.14% | +36.41% |
| ASML | ASML Holding | $1,357.42 | +5.00% | +27.05% |
| LRCX | Lam Research | $211.15 | +5.93% | +23.49% |
Broader Market Context
The VIX closed last week at 29.49, sitting near the top of the elevated uncertainty zone and in roughly the 95th percentile of the past year’s readings. That kind of fear environment typically creates the conditions for sharp sector bounces when sentiment shifts, even briefly. Monday’s semiconductor move fits that pattern.
The 10-year Treasury yield has been drifting higher recently, sitting at 4.15% as of last Friday, but remains below the 12-month average of 4.23%. That relative calm on the rates front removes one headwind that typically weighs on high-multiple tech and semiconductor names.
What to Watch
At the end of the day, stocks moved north today because oil prices dropped. Crude futures traded for as high as $120 per barrel last night as Nasdaq Futures dropped 2.7%. As they dropped throughout the day, stocks rallied. WTI Crude now trades for less than $90 per barrel, below where it closed on Friday night. As long as crude futures don’t see a massive rally, stocks will likely avoid any deep losses this week.
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