Stocks Open Higher to Start Fed Week: Stock Market Today

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Stocks opened the week much higher as bargain hunters swooped in following three straight weekly losses. Oil prices were also on the move, only the price action was to the downside, as President Donald Trump called on U.S. allies to help escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

Taking to Truth Social on Sunday, President Trump wrote that "the Countries of the World that receive Oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage." He added that the U.S. will help – "A LOT!" – and "coordinate with those Countries so that everything goes quickly, smoothly, and well."

While no nation has publicly committed to assist the U.S., according to The Wall Street Journal, front-month West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 5.3% today to settle at $95.50 per barrel.

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Gas prices will be in focus at the March Federal Reserve meeting, which kicks off tomorrow and concludes on Wednesday with the central bank's latest policy decision.

While the Fed is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged, worries that higher energy costs will boost inflation have pushed back rate-cut expectations.

According to CME Group FedWatch, futures traders are now expecting the first rate cut of 2026 to come at the September meeting. Just a few weeks ago, betting odds favored June.

You can follow along with all the latest news and updates on our March Fed meeting live blog.

Nvidia leads Dow Jones stocks ahead of GTC

As for the main indexes, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.8% at 46,946, the broader S&P 500 was 1.0% higher at 6,699, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite had gained 1.2% to 22,374.

Nvidia (NVDA) was one of the best-performing Dow Jones stocks today, rising 1.7% as the chipmaker kicked off its GTC 2026.

CEO Jensen Huang delivered the keynote address today to begin the annual conference, talking all things artificial intelligence (AI) and unveiling the next generation of computer graphics, DLSS 5.

Sherwin-Williams' dip presents buying opportunity, says Argus

Sherwin-Williams (SHW) was another Dow Jones stock that closed higher today, rising 0.9% after Argus Research analyst Alexandra Yates said the paintmaker's "recent weakness offers [a] buying opportunity."

Shares are down more than 13% in the past month as a tough housing market weighs on demand. But Yates believes the company "is uniquely positioned

to benefit from significantly higher demand trends and margin expansion in the long term, this due to its dominant market position."

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The analyst adds that Sherwin-Williams "has shown signs of perseverance," and she's confident that a rebound will occur alongside rate cuts and "a turn in the demand cycle."

History is certainly on the materials stock's side. Indeed, if you invested $1,000 in Sherwin-Williams stock 20 years ago, it would be worth more than $21,000 today.

Meta pops on layoff rumors

Meta Platforms (META) rose 2.3% today after a Reuters report suggested the Magnificent 7 stock is planning to lay off more than 20% of its global workforce, or roughly 15,000 employees, as it ramps up spending on AI efforts.

The Facebook parent called the report "speculative, but Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, thinks such a move could boost 2026 earnings per share by more than 15%.

"We've seen before that investors tend to reward Meta when it leans into cost discipline, and this could be another example of management prioritizing profitability alongside longer‑term growth ambitions," Britzman says.

In other Meta news, the social media giant said it inked a long-term deal with AI cloud company Nebius (NBIS, +15.0%) worth up to $27 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Nebius will provide Meta with $12 billion of capacity over the next five years.

Meta also has the option to purchase up to $15 billion in additional capacity over the same time frame.

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With over a decade of experience writing about the stock market, Karee Venema is the senior investing editor at Kiplinger.com. She joined the publication in April 2021 after 10 years of working as an investing writer and columnist at a local investment research firm. In her previous role, Karee focused primarily on options trading, as well as technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis.