rewrite this title The Daily Breakdown: M&A Remains Hot Despite Volatility

The Daily Breakdown takes a closer look at Nvidia’s $2 billion investment in Marvell, along with the flurry of M&A deals this week.

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What’s Happening?

Markets are sliding into the end of Q1, with the S&P 500 down 7.3%, the Nasdaq 100 off 9.1%, and Bitcoin lower by more than 20%. Stocks attempted a rebound on Monday, but those gains faded by the close, leaving most major US indices lower across the board.

Oil also remains in focus, closing above $102 a barrel as the USO ETF pushes to multi-year highs. While higher crude prices continue to support energy stocks — with the XLE ETF up nearly 40% year to date after climbing for 14 straight weeks — the broader market will likely need to see credible signs of de-escalation in the Middle East and some relief in energy prices before a more meaningful rebound can take hold.

👀 S&P 500 Spotlight

FMC Corp was Monday’s top-performing stock in the S&P 500, rising more than 6%. Even so, the stock has had a difficult six months, including two brutal post-earnings selloffs: a 46.5% one-day drop on October 30 and a 19.5% decline on February 5. ServiceNow was the index’s second-best performer on Monday, gaining 5.6%.

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Chart of the Day — TJX Companies

With so many stocks under pressure this year, it can feel like energy is the only group working in 2026. But TJX Companies is another name worth watching. While the stock is only modestly higher on the year, shares are sitting just 4% below their record high and the broader trend remains constructive. Even more impressive, TJX has posted a positive annual return for 17 straight years dating back to 2009. From a technical standpoint, pullbacks to the 50-week moving average have consistently acted as support.

Options

Investors who believe shares will move higher over time may consider participating with calls or call spreads. If speculating on a long-term rise, investors might consider using adequate time until expiration. 

For investors who would rather speculate on the stock decline or wish to hedge a long position, they could use puts or put spreads. 

To learn more about options, consider visiting the eToro Academy.

What Wall Street’s Watching

PANW

Shares of Palo Alto Networks jumped 5% yesterday after rallying as much as 8% intraday, as investors rotated back into beaten-down software and cybersecurity names. Notably, the software ETF (IGV) still gained 1% even as broader tech stocks moved lower. For Palo Alto specifically, sentiment also got a lift after CEO Nikesh Arora disclosed a recent purchase of 68,085 shares worth about $10 million — his first stock purchase since 2019. Dig into the fundamentals for PANW. 

MRVL

Marvell Technology fell 7.5% yesterday, but the stock is surging in pre-market trading after Nvidia disclosed a $2 billion stake in the company. It marks Nvidia’s latest investment move, after earlier this month revealing similar stakes in names like Coherent and Lumentum Holdings. Despite the recent pullback, Marvell was still up 7.5% for the month before this morning’s rally. Check out the chart for MRVL. 

LLY

Even with the recent volatility, dealmaking is still active. This morning, Eli Lilly announced a $7.8 billion acquisition of Centessa, while Biogen unveiled a $5.6 billion deal for Apellis Pharmaceuticals. In another major transaction, Unilever Plc agreed to combine its food business with McCormick in a $44.8 billion deal, with McCormick paying $15.7 billion in cash and the equivalent of $29.1 billion in MKC stock.

Disclaimer:

Please note that due to market volatility, some of the prices may have already been reached and scenarios played out.