Update: Equities Rise Intraday as Traders Weigh Anthropic IPO

01:52 PM EDT, 10/26/2026 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with latest market prices and developments.) US stocks rose intraday after Anthropic publicly filed for an initial public offering, while traders prepared for earnings reports of technology titans Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) and Microsoft (MSFT) due later this week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was up 1.1% at 26,233.3 after midday Monday, while the S&P 500 rose 0.8% to 7,684.9. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.3% to 52,346. Among sectors, tech paced the gainers, while communication services led the laggards. Markets weighed Anthropic's growth prospects against mounting costs and artificial intelligence safety risks. Anthropic, which previously filed for its IPO confidentially in June, is yet to determine the number of shares to be issued and the price range for the proposed market debut. Sources have told Bloomberg News that the AI chatbot Claude maker could match or top the overall size of SpaceX's (SPCX) record-setting $85.7 billion IPO in June. The filing comes as another busy week looms on Wall Street, with Google parent Alphabet and software giant Microsoft releasing their quarterly results on Wednesday. Microsoft is likely to see continued growth momentum in its Azure cloud computing business amid broad-based demand, while the company's financial position gives it a competitive advantage over its rivals in the artificial intelligence ecosystem, Truist Securities said Monday. Microsoft was up 1% intraday, among the biggest gains on the Dow. Tech bellwether Nvidia (NVDA) rose 2.4%, the second-best performer on the index. "I believe the buy-the-dip mentality remains firmly intact, supported by resilient consumer spending, strong employment, accelerating AI investment, and continued corporate earnings growth," following last week's tech-driven sell-off, Tigress Financial Intelligence Chief Market Strategist Ivan Feinseth said in a Monday note e-mailed to MT Newswires. "This week's significant acceleration in (third-quarter) earnings announcements could provide important catalysts, particularly results from Microsoft and Alphabet Wednesday and Amazon (AMZN) and Intel (INTC) Thursday," he said. Also reporting their results this week are Eli Lilly (LLY), Visa (V), Mastercard (MA), Coca-Cola (KO), ExxonMobil (XOM), Boeing (BA), T-Mobile US (TMUS), Merck (MRK), Caterpillar (CAT) and United Parcel Service (UPS). In company news, Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX) and Meta Platforms (META) are pursuing roughly $135 billion in financing for AI infrastructure, as SpaceX CEO Elon Musk warned that debt markets have largely closed to data center operators without substantial revenue from other businesses. Shares of SpaceX were up 1% intraday, while Meta edged down 0.2%. EQT (EQT) agreed to acquire Range Resources (RRC) in an all-stock transaction that will create the largest natural gas producer in the US, with a combined enterprise value of more than $50 billion. EQT shares fell 2%, while Range jumped 17%. This week's economic calendar includes a Federal Reserve policy decision on Wednesday. The probability the central bank will leave its benchmark lending rate unchanged stands at 90%, with the remaining odds in favor of a quarter-percentage-point increase, according to the CME FedWatch tool. "So long as the Fed's (Federal Open Market Committee) decision is taken to signal that the central bank remains diligent in showing sensitivity in managing its dual mandate to keep inflation in check while not unduly impeding jobs growth, we think their decision will be constructive for the market," John Stoltzfus, chief investment strategist at Oppenheimer Asset Management, said in a Monday note. Treasury yields moved mixed intraday, with the two-year rate up 3.2 basis points at 4.71% and the 10-year rate down 0.6 basis points to 4.98%. West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 1% at $102.25 a barrel intraday, while Brent edged 0.3% lower to $116.34. Spot gold nudged 0.6% higher to $4,019.32 per troy ounce, while silver gained 0.5% to $54.23 per ounce.