The major US stock indices rose at the start of the new trading week.

Over the next few days, investors will likely be closely monitoring comments from central bank officials for insight into future interest rate decisions, culminating in remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium on Friday.

The S&P 500 rose 1.0 percent on Monday, closing higher for the eighth consecutive day. Stronger communications services and technology stocks supported the Nasdaq’s 1.4 percent rise, while the Dow rose 0.6 percent.

Shares of independent natural gas producer EQT Corp. (EQT) rose 4.9%, the best daily performance in the S&P 500. EQT stock benefited from a rise in natural gas futures prices, which rose about 5% on Monday. Forecasts for hot weather and low production point to a tightening of natural gas supply and demand. Last week, analysts at Wells Fargo upgraded EQT stock to “overweight,” citing operational and balance sheet improvements.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) shares rose 4.5% after the semiconductor company announced its planned acquisition of ZT Systems, a data center infrastructure provider. AMD says the cash and stock deal, valued at $4.9 billion, will enhance its artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem.

After falling in the first half of August on concerns about low lithium prices, Albemarle (ALB) shares resumed the recovery that began late last week, rising 4.3%. On Friday, BMO Capital Markets reiterated its rating of “outperform” on Albemarle shares. Analysts remain optimistic about a recovery in the lithium market and expressed confidence in the future performance of the metal’s largest producer.

Goldman Sachs reiterated its positive forecast for Nvidia (NVDA), and shares of the AI ​​chip giant rose 4.4%. Analysts expect strong demand from cloud service providers (CSPs) to lead to outperformance of Nvidia’s data center segment, despite concerns about the delayed launch of the company’s next-generation chip architecture called Blackwell.

Shares of Match Group (MTCH), operator of Tinder, Hinge and other online dating platforms, gained 4.0%. In its most recent earnings report on July 30, Match announced plans to reduce its global workforce to cut costs. The stock has attracted attention from activist investors throughout the year, including Starboard Value and Elliott Investment Management, which have encouraged Match to explore various opportunities to create value.

Shares of printer and computer maker HP (HPQ) fell 3.7 percent on Monday, the biggest loss of any S&P 500 company, after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to equal-weight. Analysts said they saw limited upside to HP’s valuation and future earnings estimates, arguing that markets had already priced in likely catalysts for the company, including a potential recovery in the PC market.

Starbucks (SBUX) shares cooled off on the first day of the new trading week, falling 2.7%. The stock posted massive gains earlier last week after it was announced that current Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) CEO Brian Niccol would be joining the coffee giant. While Niccol hopes to replicate the turnaround he oversaw at Chipotle, he will face numerous challenges in his new position, including increasing competition in China, currently Starbucks’ second-largest market.

Estee Lauder (EL) shares fell 2.2% after the company reported results for its fiscal fourth quarter. Although quarterly sales and profits beat forecasts, the company fell short of expectations for the coming year, citing weak demand in China and North America. Estee Lauder also announced that CEO Fabrizio Freda plans to retire at the end of fiscal 2025.