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:

• Internet of Things company Vontier (NYSE: VNT) jumped 4.4%. Is now the time to buy Vontier? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Home Construction Materials company Hayward (NYSE: HAYW) jumped 4.9%. Is now the time to buy Hayward? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• General Industrial Machinery company 3M (NYSE: MMM) jumped 4.5%. Is now the time to buy 3M? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Engineered Components and Systems company Gates Industrial Corporation (NYSE: GTES) jumped 4.6%. Is now the time to buy Gates Industrial Corporation? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Gas and Liquid Handling company Helios (NYSE: HLIO) jumped 4.9%. Is now the time to buy Helios? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

Zooming In On Hayward (HAYW)

Hayward’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 5 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 3 months ago when the stock gained 10% on the news that the company reported strong third-quarter financial results that beat expectations and raised its full-year guidance. The pool equipment maker announced that its net sales grew by 7.4% compared to the previous year, reaching $244.3 million, topping analyst forecasts. The company's adjusted earnings per share also came in ahead of expectations at $0.14, a 27% increase from the same period a year ago. Looking ahead, Hayward showed confidence by increasing its sales forecast for the full year 2025 to a range between $1.095 billion and $1.110 billion. The company also raised its outlook for a key measure of profitability, adjusted EBITDA.

Hayward is up 6% since the beginning of the year, and at $16.72 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $17.22 from October 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Hayward’s shares at the IPO in March 2021 would now be looking at an investment worth $983.24.

While Wall Street chases Nvidia at all-time highs, an under-the-radar semiconductor supplier is dominating a critical AI component these giants can’t build without. Click here to access our full research report, it’s free.