What Happened?
A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after the broader market rebounded from a tech-driven sell-off, with investors taking the opportunity to buy stocks at lower prices.
This rally was fueled by a recovery in technology stocks and a significant bounce in Bitcoin, which stabilized after losing over half its value from its October peak. Investor sentiment was also lifted by a surprising improvement in U.S. consumer sentiment and the realization that massive AI-related capital expenditure, such as Amazon's planned $200 billion, directly benefits chipmakers like Nvidia and Broadcom. These "pick-and-shovel" winners jumped as much as 7%, helping the S&P 500 edge back into positive territory for 2026. The highlight of the day was the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which surged and crossed the historic 50,000 threshold for the first time.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.
Among others, the following stocks were impacted:
- Engineering and Design Services company MasTec (NYSE: MTZ) jumped 6.1%. Is now the time to buy MasTec? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Ground Transportation company Hertz (NASDAQ: HTZ) jumped 6.1%. Is now the time to buy Hertz? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Professional Tools and Equipment company Kennametal (NYSE: KMT) jumped 5.8%. Is now the time to buy Kennametal? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Engineered Components and Systems company NN (NASDAQ: NNBR) jumped 5.8%. Is now the time to buy NN? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Commercial Building Products company Janus (NYSE: JBI) jumped 5.8%. Is now the time to buy Janus? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On MasTec (MTZ)
MasTec’s shares are quite volatile and have had 18 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 5 months ago when the stock gained 7.3% on the news that an unexpected drop in the Producer Price Index (PPI) for August, signaled easing inflation and raised expectations for a potential Federal Reserve interest rate cut. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the PPI, which measures wholesale prices, edged down 0.1% last month, contrary to analyst expectations for a 0.3% rise. This data gives the Federal Reserve more flexibility to consider lowering interest rates to stimulate the economy. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the probability of a quarter-point rate cut at the next Fed meeting has surged to 90%. Lower interest rates typically benefit the industrial sector by reducing borrowing costs for new projects and expansion, potentially leading to increased economic activity and demand for industrial goods.
MasTec is up 13.8% since the beginning of the year, and at $259.18 per share, has set a new 52-week high. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of MasTec’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $3,126.
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