Monday morning brought some welcome momentum to U.S. markets, with tech stocks doing the heavy lifting. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.56% to 23,439.24, adding more than 100 points as investors returned from the weekend in buying mode. The Dow traded up 0.18% to 48,222.17, while the S&P 500 gained 0.45% to 6,864.96.

Sector Action: Energy Powers Higher

Energy stocks emerged as Monday's clear winner, climbing 1.3% as the sector caught a bid. Oil prices helped the cause, trading up 2.2% to $57.75. On the flip side, utilities stocks slumped 0.5%, making them the session's biggest laggard.

Big Movers: Triple-Digit Swings

The real action was happening in individual names, where several stocks posted eye-popping percentage moves.

Haoxin Holdings Limited (HXHX) absolutely exploded, rocketing 118% to $0.7513. Meanwhile, Sidus Space, Inc. (SIDU) surged 78% to $2.0650 after landing a contract under the Missile Defense Agency's SHIELD IDIQ program. Defense contracts tend to get investors excited, and this was no exception. Jyong Biotech Ltd. (MENS) also joined the party, gaining 36% to $4.32.

Not everyone had a good Monday, though. Luminar Technologies, Inc. (LAZR) crashed 60% to $0.2396 after jumping around 175% on Friday. The company announced last week that it initiated voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings to pursue court-supervised sale processes for its core businesses, and it seems Friday's spike was more dead-cat bounce than genuine recovery.

EUDA Health Holdings Limited (EUDA) dropped 25% to $2.09 following news of a strategic technology integration to introduce QB Utility Token into its digital health and rewards platform. Anebulo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ANEB) fell 20% to $1.74 after announcing its intent to commence a self tender offer.

Commodities Catch Fire

Commodity markets showed strength across the board, with precious metals particularly hot. Gold traded up 1.7% to $4,463.30, while silver surged 2.5% to $69.150. Oil added 2.2% to $57.75, though copper bucked the trend with a modest 0.1% decline to $5.5085.

Global Markets: Mixed Signals

European markets couldn't match the U.S. enthusiasm. The eurozone's STOXX 600 declined 0.3%, while London's FTSE 100 fell 0.5%. Germany's DAX 40 dropped 0.3%, France's CAC 40 lost 0.5%, and Spain's IBEX 35 Index slipped 0.2%.

Asian markets closed higher earlier in the session, with Japan's Nikkei 225 leading the way with a 1.81% gain. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.43%, China's Shanghai Composite climbed 0.69%, and India's BSE Sensex advanced 0.75%.

Economic Data

On the data front, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index improved to -0.21 in September from -0.31 in August. While still negative, indicating economic growth remained below its historical trend, the improvement suggests conditions are at least moving in the right direction.