Wall Street ended the first trading day of the week on a mixed note, with the Dow Jones the sole gainer, up 0.65 percent.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both fell by a whopping 1.46 percent and 3.07 percent, respectively, over fears that China is overtaking the US in innovations in the Artificial Intelligence industry, dampening confidence at a time when the world’s largest economy is bolstering investments in the sector.

Meanwhile, ten companies under mixed sectors ended the day stronger. In this article, we will take a look at which of the 10 companies posted impressive gains during a broader market pessimism and look at the reasons behind their rally.

Monday’s top advancers only considered the stocks with at least $2 billion in market capitalization and $5 million in daily trading volume.

10. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson grew its share prices by 4.14 percent to close at $152.89 apiece as investors took heart from an investment bank’s rating upgrade of the company.

On Monday, Barclays analyst Matt Miksic boosted his price target for Johnson & Johnson to $166 from $159 previously on the back of a strong fourth-quarter earnings performance.

Particularly, its oncology segment showed strength that offset weaker areas namely electrophysiology and surgery.

In other news, Johnson & Johnson is currently on a shopping spree of other pharmaceutical firms, with the latest being Intra-Cellular Therapies which it plans to acquire for $14.6 billion.

The transaction would mark the latter’s biggest deal in more than two years, bolstering its presence in the brain disease treatments market.

9. Lennar Corp. (NYSE:LEN)

Property developer Lennar Corp. saw its share prices rise by 4.14 percent on Monday to end at $137.82 apiece following news that it would develop a 170-acre real estate project on the rural southwest side of Whitestown Indiana.

To be called Cardinal Estates, Lennar Corp. would build 360 houses expected to be catered to individuals aged 55 and above.

The active adult community would feature mostly one-story houses and some homes with partial second stories. While the project would cater mostly to senior citizens, Lennar Corp. said that there would not be an age limit for those who could live in the subdivision.

According to the company, each unit would range from about $250,000 to $350,000 which translates to a potential sales value between $90 million to $126 million.

8. Dominion Energy Inc. (NYSE:D)

Dominion Energy rallied for a third consecutive day on Monday, adding 4.21 percent to finish at $55.73 apiece as investors snapped up shares in the company ahead of its full-year earnings report.

Dominion Energy, which is set to release its earnings performance on February 12, expects to report a 103.5-percent jump in its non-GAAP profit for the fourth quarter of the year at $0.59 per share versus the $0.29 apiece reported in the same period last year.

While the company has missed Wall Street’s earnings projections over the past four quarters, it has surpassed estimates on two other occasions.

During the last reported quarter, adjusted EPS surged 27.3 percent to $0.98 year-on-year.

7. FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Ohio-based FirstEnergy Corp.’s share prices surged by 4.29 percent on Monday to end at $40.88 apiece as investors gobbled up shares in the company ahead of its earnings report next month.

For the fourth quarter alone, analysts expected the company to report a $0.71 earning per share, up by 14.5 percent from the $0.62 per share reported in the same period last year.

Meanwhile, full-year earnings are expected to jump by 4.3 percent to $2.67 from $2.56 year-on-year. Its EPS is expected to rise 8.6 percent year on year to $2.90 in fiscal 2025.

FirstEnergy is a company engaged in generating, transmitting, and distributing electricity to homes and businesses in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland, and New York. It also owns and operates renewable power generation facilities across coal, nuclear, hydroelectric, wind, and solar.

6. British American Tobacco Plc (NYSE:BTI)

Share prices in British American Tobacco increased by 4.43 percent on Monday to finish at $39.61 apiece as investors took heart from a move from President Donald Trump to nix a proposal to ban menthol cigarettes in the US.

According to reports, the draft ruling to ban menthol was officially withdrawn in a regulatory docket earlier this week, sending shares of tobacco makers popping during Monday’s trading.

Former president Joe Biden floated the possible ban on menthol cigarettes under his administration in a bid to save lives by reducing the tobacco epidemic. The ban was part of the administration’s cancer moonshot initiative, which aims to reduce the threat of cancer.

The tobacco industry is currently one of the largest revenue-generating industries in the US, and banning the sector would have cost the economy billions of dollars in lost revenues.

5. American Electric Power Company (NASDAQ:AEP)

American Electric Power saw a 4.53-percent jump in its share prices on Monday to close at $102.63 apiece as investors repositioned their portfolios ahead of its full-year earnings report next month.

Analysts expect the company to report earnings per share (EPS) for the fourth quarter of the year of $1.24 apiece, just marginally higher than the $1.23 EPS registered in the same period a year ago.

American Electric Power, one of the largest power distribution utilities in the US, has surpassed analysts’ bottom-line estimates in two of the past four quarters.

American Electric Power energizes communities and businesses across 11 states, namely Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

4. PagSeguro Digital Ltd. (NYSE:PAGS)

Brazil-based financial technology company PagSeguro Digital reported a 4.63-percent jump in its share prices on Monday to end at $7.01 apiece—a second consecutive day—as investors took heart from news that Brazil is set to take a more aggressive stance on a rate hike this year in a bid to tame down inflation.

On January 29, Brazil time, the central bank is expected to raise its benchmark Selic rate to 13.25 percent, up from 12.25 percent currently.

Economists reportedly expect a 100-basis-point increase on Wednesday and further hikes in the coming months, with the base rate potentially reaching 14.75 percent in the middle of 2025.

The current monetary tightening cycle began in September 2024, when the reference rate was raised to 11.75 percent from 10.50 percent, previously.

3. ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. (NYSE:ZIM)

Shares in ZIM Integrated Shipping rose by 4.79 percent to close at $17.72 apiece as investor sentiment was buoyed by news that the company recently received a new container vessel from the Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Group of China.

Called the ZIM Aquamarine, the new vessel is co-owned between ZIM Integrated and Canadian shipping firm Seaspan. It is the last expected delivery in a series of 15 containerships built by Yangzijiang.

The vessel’s main engine and generator are both dual-fuel capable and can also operate on liquefied natural gas. A selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system meanwhile enables the ship to comply with IMO Tier III NOx emission standards.

The new vessel is expected to boost ZIM Integrated’s shipping services, thereby bolstering revenues.

2. AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Shares of AT&T Inc. surged by 6.27 percent on Monday as investors cheered news of an impressive earnings performance in the fourth quarter of the year.

On Monday, AT&T said its net income jumped 70 percent to $4.41 billion year-on-year, beating analysts’ estimates of $3.38 billion.

During the past quarter, AT&T also added 482,000 postpaid customers and 307,000 net subscribers for its fiber internet service.

”The strong results this quarter are the result of a four-plus-year period of hard work and consistent execution by our teams, which has positioned us well for a new era of growth,” said AT&T CEO John Stankey.

For 2025, the company expects a low-single-digit growth in revenues along with adjusted EBITDA of at least 3 percent.

1. Akero Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Akero Therapeutics soared by 97.52 percent in Monday’s trading to close at $51.71 per share following promising treatment results on liver disease.

On Monday, Akero released preliminary results for SYMMETRY, its phase 2b study to determine the use and security value for its product candidate efruxifermin (EFX) in patients with compensated cirrhosis, Child-Pugh Class A, because of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).

According to the company, results showed that 39 percent of those treated with 50 mg of EFX for 96 weeks showed a reversal of cirrhosis without worsening MASH. This was compared to 15 percent in the placebo group, which is statistically significant.

Generally, patients tolerated EFX well with no reported death. However, one patient in the placebo group died from pneumonia and not from the drug.

Across both EFX groups, the most common adverse events were mild to moderate and involved gastrointestinal issues. A few of these include diarrhea, nausea, and increased appetite.

While we acknowledge the potential of AKRO as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AKRO but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stock To Buy Now and Complete List of All AI Companies Under $2 Billion Market Cap.

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