Stocks wavered on Monday as Wall Street attempted to clinch more record highs. Traders this week are eyeing a key inflation reading, the upcoming summit between President Trump and Russian President Putin, and an unusual sales arrangement between Nvidia (NVDA), AMD (AMD), and the US government.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell 0.3%. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell into negative territory to slip 0.2%, while and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) slipped below the flatline after rising as much as 0.4%.

Wall Street is coming off a week that saw the Nasdaq Composite notch two consecutive records at its end. The S&P 500, meanwhile, just missed a record close on Friday.

Tech stocks overperformed as Apple (AAPL) posted its best week since 2020 on the heels of its White House spotlight with President Trump. Nvidia also closed Friday at a fresh record amid signals from Trump that Big Tech companies could avoid looming chip tariffs.

But in another tariff-related twist, President Trump confirmed on Monday he made a deal with Nvidia —allowing the AI chip giant to sell its H20 chip to China for a revenue cut in exchange.

"This [H20] is an old chip that China already has," Trump said on Monday, noting the agreement does not extend to Nvidia's next generation Blackwell.

The Financial Times reported on Sunday that both Nvidia and AMD agreed to give the US government 15% of the money they make from selling certain computer chips to China.

Nvidia and AMD shares reversed early losses on Monday.

Read more: The latest on Trump's tariffs

Trump has claimed that his tariffs are having a "huge positive impact on the stock market," though Wall Street is still navigating the twists and turns of sweeping duties on dozens of trade partners which went into effect last week.

Now, investors are turning their attention to his previewed sectoral duties on semiconductor and pharmaceutical imports, as well as a looming Tuesday deadline to extend a tariff pause with China.

Wall Street will get another glimpse this week into how those tariffs are affecting price pressures in the US. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is set for release on Tuesday, followed by the Producer Price Index on Thursday and retail sales data on Friday. Inflation reaccelerated in June, and economists have warned that the tariffs will likely continue to seep into price data in the coming months.

On Monday Trump clarified gold (GC-F) will not be tariffed the precious metal futures market whipsawed last week amid confusion on whether Swiss bars would be subject to levies.

Read more: Live coverage of earnings season

Gold (GC=F) futures traded near session lows on Monday afternoon after President Trump said imports of the precious metal will not be tariffed.

\\"Gold will not be Tariffed!\\" said a statement posted on social media.

The precious metal declined more than 2% to trade near $3,404 per ounce.

Last Friday gold futures touched intraday record highs amid reports that imports of Swiss gold bars would not be exempt from tariffs.

Later in the session the metal trimmed gains after the White House indicated it would clarify \\"misinformation about the tariffing of gold bars and other specialty products.\\"

C3.ai Inc. (AI) stock tumbled as much as 30% on Monday morning after the software company reported a steep sales miss and as its founder's health issues are spurring a search for a successor. Shares were down 23% in afternoon trading.

The company released preliminary results late Friday showing revenue well below analysts’ estimates as it undergoes a reorganization of its sales operation. Guidance for the fiscal first quarter also came in lighter than expected.

Bloomberg reported that CEO Tom Siebel attributed what he called \\"completely unacceptable\\" results to recent health issues that prevented him from actively helping to sell the company's software. Several weeks ago, he said the company would begin to search for a successor.

As Yahoo Finance's Brian Sozzi noted today, C3.ai's problems appear to be company-specific — not an indicator of the overall AI trade.

\\"But I think now is probably the time to pivot away from some of the pure plays and go to more of bank shots on AI, and names like that would be in the industrials that, you know, aren't even tech stocks, but are benefiting from all of the infrastructure spending,\\" John Campbell of Allsprings Global Investments said on Opening Bid.

Read more here.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) surged on Monday to trade near record highs as investor enthusiasm and momentum around crypto grew.

The digital token reached $122,000 on Monday before easing to around $120,000. The gains come as inflows into exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have grown and public companies have been adding bitcoin to their balance sheets.

Bitcoin wasn't the only cryptocurrency getting a bid; ethereum (ETH-USD) touched 2021 levels on Monday. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap has surged roughly 190% since the April market lows.

Companies have been adding ethereum to their balance sheets as a way to gain exposure to the tech infrastructure behind decentralized finance and digital assets, such as stablecoins.

The move higher in crypto also comes as stocks hover near record highs on expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut rates in September and President Trump's next Fed chair pick will likely bring looser monetary policy.

Intel (INTC) stock jumped more than 4% ahead of CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s reported visit to the White House after President Trump called for his resignation.

Citing unnamed sources, the Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend that Tan is set to meet with Trump Monday to explain his personal and professional background and to propose ways that Intel and the government can collaborate.

Intel did not immediately respond to Yahoo Finance’s questions regarding the reported meeting.

Read the full story here.

Tesla (TSLA) stock surged 3% on Monday after the EV maker applied for a license to provide electricity to UK households and businesses.

Apart from making electric vehicles and robotaxis, Tesla also provides Megapack batteries. The company's energy business grew 30% year over year last quarter, accounting for its largest margins.

If the electricity supply license application submitted to the UK energy regulator Ofgem is approved, Tesla would be allowed to compete with other energy firms in the region.

Memory chipmaker Micron (MU) — which supplies its semiconductors to Nvidia (NVDA) to use in its products — saw its stock jump more than 4% Monday after raising its financial outlook for its fourth quarter, which ends Aug. 28.

The company said it expects to see adjusted revenue of $11.1 billion to $11.3 billion, up from its prior projected range of $10.4 billion to $11 billion. Micron expects to report quarterly adjusted earnings per share of $2.78 to $2.92, more than its previous range of $2.35 to $2.65.

\\"This revised guidance reflects improved pricing, particularly in DRAM, and strong execution,\\" the company said in a statement. Micron's DRAM chips are one type of memory chip used in devices like personal computers and smartphones.

US stocks were steady at the open on Monday after the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) notched two consecutive records last week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose nearly 0.1%. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) hovered above the flat line.

Chip stocks were in focus Monday after Nvidia (NVDA) and AMD (AMD) reportedly inked deals with the US government to sell their chips to China in exchange for sharing 15% of their revenues from the country. Nvidia shares fell less than 1% on Monday, while AMD shares lost over 1.5%.

Looking ahead this week, investors are awaiting a key inflation reading and the upcoming summit between President Trump and Russian President Putin.

Paramount has agreed to a seven-year, $7.7 billion deal to become the exclusive US broadcaster of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The agreement is Paramount's largest since David Ellison took over as chair and CEO last week, following the completion of Skydance's takeover of the company.

Under the contract, Paramount will stream all 13 of UFC’s marquee events and 30 Fight Nights annually on its streaming platform from 2026, with selected events also broadcast on CBS, the Financial Times reported.

The FT reports:

Led by promoter Dana White, an ally of Donald Trump and board member of Instagram owner Meta, UFC’s popularity could help attract new subscribers to Paramount+, the company’s online platform.

“The UFC really is a unicorn sports asset that is year round, which is really critical to our overall sports strategy,” Ellison said in an interview with the Financial Times. ...

As part of the agreement, Paramount has the right to create original content based on UFC — similarly to how Netflix developed F1: The Movie — with approval from the MMA group at the expense of the studio.

The deal is a landmark shift for UFC as it will end its long-standing pay-per-view model in the US, with premium fights made available at no extra cost to Paramount+ subscribers.

Read more here (subscription required).

AMC (AMC) stock jumped 8% in premarket trading after the movie theater chain reported attendance in the second quarter grew nearly 26% as blockbusters drew in moviegoers.

Reuters reports:

AMC Entertainment surpassed Wall Street estimates for second-quarter revenue on Monday, as top U.S. blockbusters such as \\"A Minecraft Movie\\" and \\"Lilo & Stitch\\" drove more people to its theater chains.

\\"Clearly, moviegoing guests prefer to see their favorite films in the most immersive, most spectacular formats possible,\\" CEO Adam Aron said.

\\"Our premium auditoriums are operating at close to three times the occupancy of a regular auditorium and command a healthy price premium to boot.\\"

The film industry across the globe has benefited from a recovering box office and growing consumer demand for premium moviegoing experiences.

AMC's second-quarter revenue rose 35.6% to $1.40 billion. Analysts on average estimated $1.35 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Its net loss stood at $4.7 million, compared with the loss of $32.8 million a year earlier.

Read more here.

Shares of Nvidia (NVDA) and AMD (AMD) fell on Monday after the two companies agreed to pay the US government 15% of the revenue for certain chip sales to China.

Nvidia stock was off by 0.4% premarket, while AMD stock dropped 1.4% as investors digested the unusual deal in which the chipmakers will essentially pay for export licenses.

While the details are still being worked out, the chips in question reportedly include Nvidia’s H20 AI chip and AMD’s MI308 chips, which previously faced export controls from the Trump administration.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang made the deal at the White House last Wednesday, the same day Apple (AAPL) agreed to increase its US investment to $600 billion, ostensibly to help the company avoid tariffs, as the Trump administration looks to monetize trade policy.

An Nvidia spokesperson told Yahoo Finance: “We follow rules the U.S. government sets for our participation in worldwide markets. While we haven't shipped H20 to China for months, we hope export control rules will let America compete in China and worldwide. America cannot repeat 5G and lose telecommunication leadership. America’s AI tech stack can be the world’s standard if we race.\\"

As for other chip stocks, Intel (INTC) and Qualcomm (QCOM) shares rose, while Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) fell modestly.

Read more here.

Earnings: BigBear.AI (BBAI), Monday.com (MNDY), Oklo (OKLO), Plug Power (PLUG)

Economic calendar: No notable releases.

Here are some of the biggest stories you may have missed overnight and early this morning:

Nvidia, AMD revenue deal brings 'monetization of US trade policy'

Yahoo Finance poll: Americans face new, complex financial challenges

Earnings live: Monday.com stock tanks, AMC to report

Debate over Fed rate cuts heats up: What to watch this week

Fed's Bowman makes case for 3 interest rate cuts in 2025

Intel CEO to visit White House on Monday

Citi strategists raise S&P 500 target on resilient earnings

Bitcoin Nears Record as Treasury Investors Boost Crypto Market

BofA poll shows record number of investors say stocks overvalued

Lithium market soars as CATL shuts one of world's biggest mines

Monday.com stock plunged aorund 20% in premarket trading on Monday after the Israeli-based software company reported earnings.

In the second quarter, Monday.com reported earnings of $0.03 per share and revenue of $299 million. While revenue beat analyst expectations of $293 million, GAAP profits fell short, as Wall Street was looking for $0.20 per share, per S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Investors have been looking for signs that economic uncertainty is pushing companies to pull back their spending on technology and software.

The company's operating loss fell to $11.6 million from $1.8 million a year ago, and the operating margin fell to negative 4% from 1% last year.

Read more live coverage of corporate earnings here

US gold futures (GC=F) in New York fell 2% as traders waited for the White House to clarify its tariff policy. Last week, the US Customs and Border agency surprised the market by ruling that 100oz and 1kg gold bars would face tariffs.

Bloomberg News reports:

Futures were trading about $62 an ounce over the global spot benchmark on Monday, after surging to a record on Friday before erasing gains as the administration told Bloomberg that it would clarify what it called “misinformation” on the tariffing of gold and other specialty products. The price differential between trading hubs in the US and London fell below $60 an ounce in reaction to the news, after earlier surging to above $100 in response to the initial levy shock.

Washington’s policy has sweeping implications for the flow of bullion around the world, and potentially for the smooth functioning of the US futures contract. The administration had exempted the precious metal from duties back in April, and until there is long-term clarity, traders say, precious metals markets will remain on edge.

Read more here.

Good WSJ story this morning on Target (TGT) and its many challenges, one of them finding its next CEO. I wrote more on this a couple months ago.

I would expect an abysmal quarter (another one) from Target when it reports second quarter earnings on August 20. The company is not only dealing with operational challenges, but it has totally lost the value perception battle with Walmart.

I don't see these dynamics changing this year, and maybe not until deep into 2026 provided an outside CEO is brought in to run a full assessment of the business.

Bitcoin looks to be breaking out of its recent trading range, nearing a fresh record this morning.

There doesn't appear to be a clear catalyst for the pop today, though this Sunday X post from bitcoin evangelist Michael Saylor may have stoked the bulls. It suggests he will continue to be a buyer of bitcoin — perhaps no surprise, but the crypto market likes to be coddled.

\\"If you don't stop buying Bitcoin, you won't stop making Money,\\" Saylor wrote.

Shares of C3.ai (AI) are getting crushed pre-market to the tune of 30%.

And the rout is 100% deserved.

Late Friday the company said it sees preliminary first fiscal quarter revenue of $70.2 million to $70.4 million, about 33% below the mid-point of its prior guidance for $100 million to $109 million. Sales would be down 19% from the prior year.

The adjusted operating loss will be $57.7 million to $59.9 million, roughly twice the $23.5 million to $33.5 million loss that it had expected.

I don't think there is anything to read into the AI trade here — this seems very company-specific, and tied to a sales reorg.