Ten stocks kicked off the trading week with double-digit gains, defying a lackluster performance on the broader market, as investors turned to positive developments to bolster their buying appetite. Of the 10 in the list, six notably soared to record highs.

In contrast, Wall Street’s three major indices finished in the red, led by the Nasdaq, down 0.26 percent, followed by the S&P 500 declining 0.24 percent, and the Dow Jones dipping 0.01 percent.

In this article, we explore the 10 best performers and break down the reasons behind their gains.

To come up with the list, we only considered the stocks with a $2 billion market capitalization.

10. Sigma Lithium Corp. (NASDAQ:SGML)

Sigma Lithium kicked off the trading week soaring to a new two-year high, as investors continued to load portfolios in industries seen to benefit from the uncertainties in the Middle East.

The stock climbed to a record high of $21.80 before trimming a few cents to finish the session just up by 10 percent at $21.69 apiece.

Investors resumed buying positions in lithium stocks amid the spike in demand for electric vehicles, with global crude oil prices jumping by 5 percent anew during the day after the US and Iran ordered the Strait of Hormuz shut again.

As of writing, the benchmark crude oil prices Brent and WTI have jumped by 5.23 percent and 5.84 percent to $95.11 and $88.75 per barrel, respectively.

Since the start of the war, online car marketplaces have reported a spike in demand for EVs as consumers look for alternative transportation modes to mitigate risks from the higher global crude oil prices, sparking rosy prospects for Sigma Lithium Corp. (NASDAQ:SGML), a leading producer of lithium oxide concentrate, which is essential for the production of batteries, among others.

Earlier this month, Sigma Lithium Corp. (NASDAQ:SGML) successfully raised $100 million in fresh funds from a collateralized bank guarantee.

The lithium maker said proceeds from the loan would support the construction and installation of its Greentech Industrial Plant 2, in line with goals to upsize its nameplate capacity to 520,000 tons from 270,000 tons.

Sigma Lithium Corp. (NASDAQ:SGML) said the guarantee will be collateralized by its clients through a blend of corporate guarantees, letters of credit, and export receivables to be mutually agreed upon amongst the parties.

9. Lightwave Logic Inc. (NASDAQ:LWLG)

Lightwave Logic extended its winning streak to a third consecutive day on Monday to hit a new four-year high, as investors loaded positions in players riding the technology boom while mitigating risks from the uncertainties in the Middle East.

The stock climbed to its highest price of $14.82 before trimming a few cents to end the day just up by 13.08 percent at $14.18 apiece.

The rally can be attributed to the continued optimism for companies riding the AI boom, while investor funds fled industries seen as vulnerable to the US-Iran war.

Lightwave Logic Inc. (NASDAQ:LWLG) is a technology firm leveraging electro-optic polymers to transmit data at higher speeds with less power for data centers, among others.

Last month, its high-speed modulator platform was made available as part of the GDSFactory process design kit, which GlobalFoundries uses for its silicon photonics manufacturing platform.

Lightwave Logic Inc. (NASDAQ:LWLG) said that it partnered with GDSFactory for the integration of its polymer-based modulator technology into the GDSFactory PDK, enabling customers to incorporate high-speed electro-optic polymer modulators directly into their photonic integrated circuit designs for tape-out on GF’s silicon photonics platform.

The expanded PDK and integrated design flow support simulation, verification, and fabrication handoff within the GDSFactory environment, providing a manufacturable pathway from design to foundry execution.

“Making our high-speed modulator platform available within the GDSFactory PDK represents a significant step toward commercial deployment,” Lightwave Logic Inc. (NASDAQ:LWLG) President and CEO Yves LeMaitre said.

“With the support from GDSFactory, we are enabling customers to move confidently from architecture to tape-out while leveraging GlobalFoundries’ leading silicon photonics platform,” he added.

8. BlackBerry Ltd. (NYSE:BB)

BlackBerry extended its winning streak to a 9th straight session on Monday, to hit a new 52-week high, following news that it joined forces with Nvidia Corp. to advance safety-critical Edge AI across various industries.

In intra-day trading, BlackBerry Ltd. (NYSE:BB) climbed to its highest price of $5.71 before trimming gains to finish the session just up by 13.17 percent at $5.50 apiece.

In an updated report, BlackBerry Ltd. (NYSE:BB) said that its business unit, QNX, partnered with Nvidia for the integration of its safety operating system 8.0 with NVIDIA IGX Thor and Halos Safety Stack, which will enable developers to consolidate real-time controls and safety concepts while using Nvidia accelerated compute for AI‑driven capabilities such as perception, planning, and decision‑making.

“As robotics, medical, and industrial systems become more autonomous and software-defined, safety and determinism cannot be afterthoughts,” QNX President John Wall said.

“Integrating QNX OS for Safety 8.0 with NVIDIA IGX Thor and NVIDIA Halos Safety Stack brings together a trusted real‑time safety foundation and a powerful functional safety platform for edge AI. This expanded collaboration builds on our work with the NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Thor Development Kit and extends the same proven architecture from automotive into the next wave of regulated, intelligent systems,” he noted.

In other news, BlackBerry Ltd. (NYSE:BB) also announced that QNX bagged a new deal with Chinese electric vehicle maker, Leapmotor to support the development of its premium electric SUV, D19.

Under the agreement, Leapmotor would use QNX’s Software Development Platform 8.0 and Hypervisor for Safety 8.0 to enable a unified architecture for advanced cockpit and advanced driver-assistance system experience.

7. USA Rare Earth Inc. (NASDAQ:USAR)

USA Rare Earth extended its winning streak to a 6th consecutive day on Monday, surging 13.18 percent to close at $22.58 apiece, as investors took heart from its expansion initiative with the acquisition of a rare earth miner for $2.8 billion.

In an updated report, USA Rare Earth Inc. (NASDAQ:USAR) said that it inked a definitive agreement with Serra Verde Group for the acquisition of its entire stake for a combination of cash and stock transaction.

Serra Verde, which owns the Pela Ema rare earth mine and processing plant in Goiás, Brazil, will be acquired for $300 million in cash and more than 126.8 million USAR shares, which, as of Friday’s $19.95 closing price, implied an equity value of $2.8 billion.

The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of the year, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

“The acquisition of Serra Verde represents a transformational step in delivering on our ambition to build a global champion and the partner of choice in rare earth elements, oxides, metals and magnets,” USA Rare Earth Inc. (NASDAQ:USAR) CEO Barbara Humpton said, noting that Serra Verde is the only producer outside Asia capable of supplying all four magnetic rare earths at scale, including Dysprosium, Yttrium, and Terbium.

“By combining Serra Verde’s world-class operations and team with our processing, separation, metallization, and magnet-making capabilities, we are advancing our goal of creating a fully integrated platform that will serve as a cornerstone of global rare earth supply security for decades to come,” she added.

Serra Verde recently secured a $565 million in financial backing from the US International Development Finance Corp. for its expansion initiatives. It also secured a 15-year offtake agreement to supply a special purpose vehicle and private capital sources with all four magnetic rare earths required to make a permanent NdFeB magnet.

6. Erasca Inc. (NASDAQ:ERAS)

Erasca rallied for a 5th straight session on Monday to hit a new four-year high, as investors positioned portfolios ahead of the results of its clinical study for its pancreatic cancer treatment candidate, ERAS-0015.

In intra-day trading, the stock surged to a record high of $21.85 before trimming a few cents to finish the session just up by 14.20 percent at $21.71 apiece. Year-to-date, the stock was already up by 483.6 percent.

In a notice earlier in the year, Erasca Inc. (NASDAQ:ERAS) said that additional data from the first phase study of ERAS-0015 are expected to be announced in the first half of 2026.

Optimism was further supported by earlier announcements that ERAS-0015 holds a “best-in-class” potential, as underscored by the partial responses at a low dosage of 8 mg daily across multiple tumor types, alongside favorable safety data.

“This clinical progress and the successful upsized public offering heighten excitement in our RAS-targeting franchise and strengthen our financial position as we further advance clinical development,” Erasca Inc. (NASDAQ:ERAS) Chairman and CEO Jonathan Lim said.

Erasca Inc. (NASDAQ:ERAS) also expanded its worldwide rights to develop and commercialize ERAS-0015 to China, Hong Kong, and Macau, sparking revenue growth opportunities in these areas.

In addition, it inked a collaboration and supply agreement with Tango Therapeutics Inc. to evaluate the efficacy of ERAS-0015 when combined with the latter’s PRMT5 inhibitor, vopimetostat.

The combination represents a promising opportunity to redefine the standard of care in patients with MTAP-deleted RAS-mutant (MTAPdel RASm) cancers, where treatment options remain limited, Erasca Inc. (NASDAQ:ERAS) said.

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