What Happened?

A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after investor optimism around artificial intelligence fueled broad market gains. 

Technology stocks with a focus on artificial intelligence once again led the market higher, boosting the Nasdaq and S&P 500. Companies at the forefront of the AI boom, such as Nvidia and Broadcom, saw significant jumps in their share prices. The rally reflected a renewed belief among investors in the transformative potential of AI technology to drive future growth and productivity. 

The rally was further supported by a surprise cooling in the November consumer price index (CPI) report, which triggered market pricing for additional rate cuts in the coming year. This created a more favorable environment for growth-oriented software companies as borrowing costs decrease.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.

Among others, the following stocks were impacted:

• Marketing Software company Upland Software (NASDAQ: UPLD) jumped 2.7%. Is now the time to buy Upland Software? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Design Software company Unity (NYSE: U) jumped 3.5%. Is now the time to buy Unity? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Data Analytics company Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) jumped 3.9%. Is now the time to buy Palantir Technologies? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Advertising Software company AppLovin (NASDAQ: APP) jumped 3.7%. Is now the time to buy AppLovin? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Data Infrastructure company C3.ai (NYSE: AI) jumped 3.3%. Is now the time to buy C3.ai? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Zooming In On Palantir Technologies (PLTR)

Palantir Technologies’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 45 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 1 day ago when the stock gained 4.8% on the news that cooler-than-expected inflation data reignited hopes for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. 

The November Consumer Price Index (CPI), a key measure of inflation, rose 2.7% year-over-year, coming in below economists' expectations of a 3.1% increase. Similarly, "core" inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 2.6%, beating the consensus forecast of 3.0%. This encouraging report meant that inflationary pressures were easing more quickly than anticipated. As a result, investors grew more optimistic that the Federal Reserve would have the flexibility to cut interest rates in the near future. Lower interest rates generally reduce borrowing costs for companies and can make stocks, particularly growth-oriented tech shares, more attractive to investors.

Palantir Technologies is up 158% since the beginning of the year, and at $193.64 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $207.18 from November 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Palantir Technologies’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $6,792.

Microsoft, Alphabet, Coca-Cola, Monster Beverage—all began as under-the-radar growth stories riding a massive trend. We’ve identified the next one: a profitable AI semiconductor play Wall Street is still overlooking.Go here for access to our full report.