What Happened?
A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after investor sentiment turned positive on hopes of a potential ceasefire in Iran, which also contributed to easing oil prices.
Wall Street started the new quarter with a tech-led rally, as major indices like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite posted significant gains. The optimism stemmed from news of potential de-escalation in geopolitical tensions, which often encourages a 'risk-on' environment. In such a climate, investors are more willing to move capital into growth-oriented assets, such as technology stocks, which powered the market's upward move. The broad-based gains across sectors indicated a decisive shift in market sentiment, away from the caution that had prevailed previously.
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:
- Electronic Components & Manufacturing company Flex (NASDAQ: FLEX) jumped 4%. Is now the time to buy Flex? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Electronic Components & Manufacturing company Benchmark (NYSE: BHE) jumped 4%. Is now the time to buy Benchmark? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Data & Business Process Services company Planet Labs (NYSE: PL) jumped 10.6%. Is now the time to buy Planet Labs? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Enterprise Networking company Applied Digital (NASDAQ: APLD) jumped 5.8%. Is now the time to buy Applied Digital? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Hardware & Infrastructure company Dell (NYSE: DELL) jumped 3.3%. Is now the time to buy Dell? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On Planet Labs (PL)
Planet Labs’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 66 moves greater than 5% over the last year. But moves this big are rare even for Planet Labs and indicate this news significantly impacted the market’s perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 5 days ago when the stock dropped 5% on the news that U.S. equities traded lower as escalating geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran pushed oil prices above $100 a barrel, rattling investor confidence.
Major indices saw significant declines, with the Dow Jones tumbling. The uncertainty surrounding the conflict drove Brent crude oil higher, effectively acting as a tax on the global economy by increasing costs for businesses and consumers. This sentiment was reflected in the University of Michigan's consumer survey, which fell to a three-month low as households braced for higher inflation, with year-ahead expectations jumping to 3.8%. Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin commented on the situation, noting that the 'fog of war' has deepened economic uncertainty and that historically, such oil price shocks are highly coincident with recessions.
Planet Labs is up 51.6% since the beginning of the year, but at $30.94 per share, it is still trading 12.5% below its 52-week high of $35.37 from March 2026. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Planet Labs’s shares at the IPO in April 2021 would now be looking at an investment worth $3,125.
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