Why These 10 Firms Soared on Monday

The stock market kicked off the trading week on a negative note as investors sold off on a new round of uncertainties from President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.

The Nasdaq fell by 0.74 percent, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.64 percent and the Dow Jones was down by 0.24 percent.

Over the weekend, Trump told reporters that the US was negotiating with many countries, “but at the end of this, I’ll set my own deals — because I set the deal, they don’t set the deal.”

He added that he had no intentions to talk with Chinese President Xi Jinping, dampening hopes of a potential negotiation between the two of the world’s largest economies.

Beyond the major indices, 10 companies stood out with strong gains amid a flurry of fresh developments. In this article, we name Monday’s 10 best performers and detail the reasons behind their gains.

To come up with the list, we considered only the stocks with a $2-billion market capitalization and $5-million trading volume.

Photo by George Morina on Pexels

10. IAMGOLD Corporation (NYSE:IAG)

Shares of IAMGOLD Corp. rose by 3.57 percent on Monday to close at $6.96 apiece as investors repositioned their portfolios following the surge in gold prices, and ahead of the release of its first quarter earnings performance.

According to the company, it will release its key operational and financial highlights after the market closes on Tuesday, May 6. A conference call will follow to elaborate on the results at 8:30 AM on Wednesday, May 7.

Additionally, market sentiment was fueled by the surge in spot prices of gold, which as of this writing was up by 2.76 percent at $3,329.86 per ounce, as investors resorted to safer assets anew amid the weakness in the US dollar.

IAMGOLD Corporation (NYSE:IAG)  is a leading gold producer with assets across Canada and West Africa. The company fully owns the Westwood project in Quebec, holds a 60 percent stake in the Côté Gold project in Ontario, and controls 90 percent of Essakane in Burkina Faso.

For this year, it targets gold production to hit between 735,000 and 820,000 ounces, focusing on maximizing Côté Gold’s potential.

9. BP PLC (NYSE:BP)

BP PLC extended its winning streak for a third straight day on Monday, adding 3.77 percent to close at $29.18 apiece following reports that it is being targeted for acquisition by its rival, Shell PLC.

According to a report by Bloomberg, Shell is currently in talks with advisers to evaluate its potential acquisition of BP PLC (NYSE:BP). However, it remains on the lookout for whether prices of oil and its stock will decline before it officially decides whether it will pursue a bid.

For several years, the two companies were almost equal in size until Shell outgrew BP PLC (NYSE:BP) by almost twice.

“As we have said many times before, we are sharply focused on capturing the value in Shell through continuing to focus on performance, discipline, and simplification,” Bloomberg quoted a Shell representative as saying.

BP PLC (NYSE:BP) declined to comment on the reports.